Toronto launches campaign to protect migrating birds from slamming into windows this spring

An estimated 25 million birds are killed annually across Canada due to collisions with building windows. (Pexels/Photo by Fahad AlAni)

The City of Toronto is launching its annual Lights Out Toronto campaign to protect birds as they begin to migrate to prevent them from colliding with building windows.

Birds from across the city will be travelling to their destinations, but large urban area buildings and the city’s metropolitan structures pose a danger to them.

Around 25 million birds are killed every year across Canada due to collisions with building windows, the city said.

“Night-migrating birds are drawn by city lights into urban areas where they often fatally collide with building windows that they cannot see,” the campaign’s webpage states.

The Lights Out Toronto campaign encourages people to participate by turning off all non-essential lights in their homes at night. This can help reduce the number of collisions and help protect the birds.

The campaign also asks the residents to close their window covering if the lights must be kept on, turn off any decorative lighting outside the house like pot lights and flood lights, reduce the use of strobe and atrium lighting and install automatic motion sensors and control where they can.

Toronto was the first city in North America to officially adopt policies to protect migratory birds like requiring new developments to have bird-friendly design features and glass.

The Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada is a registered charity which advocates for the protection of birds against collisions with buildings.

If residents come across birds that have collided windows, the city advises the following:

• Place the bird in a cardboard box or unwaxed paper bag with tissues so the bird has a perching spot
• Don’t handle the bird more than necessary
• Refrain from giving the bird food or water
• Wash your hands after handling the bird
• Contact the Toronto Wildlife Centre using their request for assistance form

This campaign will be implemented during spring and fall migration seasons.

“Birds are also essential to a healthy environment: they consume billions of insects daily, pollinate plants and disperse seeds,” the city said. “By making the city safer for migratory birds, we will be enhancing the natural biodiversity of our urban environment.”