Windsor is one of 14 cities newly certified "bird-friendly."
Last spring, it received a designation, but on Thursday, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced Windsor was among those cities chosen for certification.
"Getting certified as a bird-friendly city is something these municipalities can really crow about," said Guilbeault at COP15 in Montreal. "It's a point of pride and a self-imposed challenge to continue doing better in protecting the fate of bird populations."
A red-winged blackbird at Point Pelee National Park, May 28, 2017. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
The City of Windsor has adopted many policies that protect birds including those that protect green spaces and plant trees. City Naturalist Karen Cedar said new municipal buildings even have windows that prevent bird collisions.
"When you go into these new buildings now, you can see dots in the glass, and that's to prevent birds from hitting those windows," she said.
Six other cities in Ontario were certified on Thursday, Barrie, Burlington, Guelph, Hamilton, Peterborough, and Halton Hills.
Certified cities have taken action to protect the bird population in three categories, reducing human-related threats, protecting bird habitat, and community outreach. The program developed by Nature Canada is made possible with a $655,000 investment from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Canada hosts 393 species of migratory birds, and Windsor-Essex lies along the migration route for many.
"There are three billion fewer birds in North America than 50 years ago," Nature Canada Executive Director Graham Saul said. "Bird Friendly City certification is more than just a piece of paper. It's a commitment to building a nature-positive world together."
Bird populations help scientists diagnose the health of our water, air, and land. Spreading seeds and eating insects and rodents, birds benefit forests and agriculture. They also contribute to the economy. Each year, Point Pelee National Park and Hillman Marsh host thousands of bird enthusiasts.
Two significant threats to bird populations in Canada are cats and collisions with glass.
Cats account for up to 75 per cent, or up to 350 million, bird fatalities annually. Feral cats are the biggest threat, responsible for 59 per cent, but even pets that are allowed to wander outside hunt avian species.
Another 25 million deaths happen when birds fly into untreated windows. Surprisingly, high-rise buildings are only responsible for one per cent of bird deaths.
Glass windows in residential homes are implicated in 90 per cent of fatalities caused by collisions with glass, but Cedar said homeowners can help protect birds too.
"There's little white dots you can put on, there's stripes, there's designs you can put," she said. "The Pelee Island Bird Observatory, which is the organization that championed for this certification, created a bunch of YouTube videos."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFi7kg2Ypzk&ab_channel=PeleeIslandBirdObservatory
Loss of habitat is another killer. However, municipalities can pass bylaws that protect and expand the natural areas favoured by birds. They can also legislate the use of pesticides known to cause harm.
Last spring, Nature Canada certified the first four cities, London, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.
The Government of Canada is approaching its goal of conserving 25 per cent of its land, fresh water, and oceans by 2025.
The goal of COP15 is for all 196 countries represented in Montreal will commit to moving that target to 30 per cent by 2030.
