Help Vaughan become a bird-friendly city

Attend the City’s World Migratory Bird Day event on Saturday, May 13

The City of Vaughan is becoming a bird-friendly city! This means implementing practices, policies and events to help save birds, protect their habits and improve the local ecosystem. Want to learn more about what the City is doing to become bird-friendly certified? Or how you can make your home bird-safe? The City is hosting an event to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day – and you’re invited!

World Migratory Bird Day is an opportunity for the City to share why birds are so important to protect – do you know why? Birds play an essential role in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems – they help to pollinate plants, disperse seeds and control insects. Birds also provide vital sources of information. By studying them, we can understand the ecosystem's overall health, collect statics about the environment and more.

In the last 50 years, North American bird populations have dropped by more than 25 per cent. Three-million birds, including urban species that live in Vaughan, are gone due to domestic cats, and collisions with cars and windows. This is why it is so important to protect them.

Attend the City’s World Migratory Bird Day event!

Join us on Saturday, May 13 at Vaughan City Hall (2141 Major Mackenzie Dr.) from 10 a.m. to noon to enjoy an indoor bird-watching activity, bird-themed arts and crafts for kids, watch a short film about birds, speak to bird-focused vendors, learn what Vaughan is doing to become a bird-friendly city, and more. Details are available at vaughan.ca/BirdFriendly.

How is the City taking action?

Vaughan is working to become a bird-friendly city through initiatives related to threat reduction, habitat protection and restoration, cutting carbon emissions and community education. Below are some examples:

• In June 2022, Vaughan Council passed a Member’s Resolution (PDF) for the City to become a Bird-Friendly City through Nature Canada. Nature Canada has developed a standard to certify eligible municipalities and recognize contributions made to save birds. The City is working to achieve this certification.
• In May 2022, through the City’s Sustainability Metrics Program, Vaughan Council endorsed the City’s Bird-Safe Design Standards to ensure all new private and City-owned developments meet certain sustainability requirements with bird-safe design treatments.
• Updated in 2020, the City’s Animal Control By-law 066-2020 (PDF) helps protect wildlife and provides guidelines about licensing cats, running at large and leash requirements. The By-law assists in reducing the threat of predation to birds.

You can save the birds – at home!

Here are some tips you can follow to make your home safer for birds:

• Plant a native, bird-friendly garden. Bird-friendly gardens provide both shelter and food. Some examples of trees, shrubs and flowers you can plant include maple and oak trees, milkweed, harebell, hawthorn, juniper, dogwoods, coneflowers, and black-eyed susans.
• Tweak your daily routine. At night, turn off lights or draw the blinds to prevent light-seeking birds from crashing into windows. You can also mark windows with bird-friendly coverings/tape to make them visible to birds when flying. Refer to FLAP Canada for window covering guidelines.
• Be a conscious consumer. When shopping for items such as coffee, chocolate and paper products, look for certifications like Bird-Friendly, Rainforest Alliance or Forestry Stewardship Council; these certifications help protect bird habitats.

For more information, including additional conversation tips, bird-watching locations and species seen in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/environment.

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