👨‍🔬🔬🐦 2018 OSC. FLAP Canada Annual Bird Layout

Friday, 18 May 2018 05:00.AM
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- FLAP Canada displays 2,000 bird specimens at Ontario Science Centre to inform, educate and empower the public on bird-building collisions. -

Yesterday, the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada held its Annual Bird Layout at the Ontario Science Centre. Through informative presentations, hands-on activities and a visually-arresting layout of 2,000 bird specimens, this yearly event aims to inform and educate the public about the threats of built environments to migratory birds and empower them to take action to prevent bird-building collisions.

“Birds play an essential role in keeping ecosystems around the world in balance: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds, scavenge carcasses and recycle nutrients back into the earth. When birds thrive, humans thrive,” said Michael Mesure, Executive Director, FLAP Canada. “It’s easier than ever to make commercial and residential buildings bird-safe and prevent bird fatalities. There are many readily available, aesthetically-pleasing solutions to help prevent bird strikes.”

Representing an impressive 96 species (see below), including the at-risk Canada Warbler and Wood Thrush, this year’s layout comprised 2,000 migratory birds involved in bird-building collisions in Toronto in 2017. Specimens included in the impactful and artistic layout constitute a small percentage of the estimated 1,000,000 annual bird fatalities that occur in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) during the spring and fall migration seasons.

“We’re fortunate to be located in the beautiful Don River Valley ravine, which is home to and a stopover for a variety birds, including Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays and Red-tailed Hawks,” said Maurice Bitran, PhD, CEO and Chief Science Officer, Ontario Science Centre. “Hosting this year’s Annual Bird Layout is a unique opportunity for us to educate our visitors about the ecological importance of birds – particularly migratory birds – and engage them in dialogue about bird strikes, which is a significant conservation issue.”

During spring and fall migration seasons, FLAP Canada volunteers conduct regular bird rescue patrols in designated areas within the GTA, meticulously recording collisions. During these patrols, they often come across fatalities, which are collected and carefully frozen to be included in the Annual Bird Layout. The specimens are eventually donated to artists, museums and other institutions for research and educational purposes.

The GTA is on one of the two major migration routes, which means large numbers of birds fly through its urban environment. At night, migrating birds are drawn to lit areas and become trapped in a maze of buildings that obstruct their instinctive migration route. During the day, migrating birds do not perceive glass the way humans do; transparent or reflective areas of glass create an illusion for birds, resulting in fatal collisions with windows.

Birds native to Ontario are now returning to their breeding grounds across the province. To learn more about making residential and commercial buildings safe for migratory birds, please visit BirdSafe.ca.

2017 Collision Victims by Species in the Greater Toronto Area
*Indicates species at risk

American Goldfinch
American Redstart
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
American Woodcock
Baltimore Oriole
Barred Owl
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Black-billed Cuckoo
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-capped Chickadee
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
Brown Creeper
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brown Thrasher
Canada Warbler*
Cape May Warbler
Cedar Waxwing
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Common Grackle
Common Yellowthroat
Cooper's Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Wood Peewee*
European Starling
Field Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Golden-winged Warbler*
Gray Catbird
Grey-cheeked Thrush
Hermit Thrush
House Finch
House Sparrow
House Wren
Indigo Bunting
Kentucky Warbler
Least Flycatcher
Lincoln's Sparrow
Magnolia Warbler
Mallard
Marsh Wren
Mourning Dove
Mourning Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Parula
Northern Saw Whet Owl
Northern Waterthrush
Orange-crowned Warbler
Ovenbird
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Purple Finch
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-headed Woodpecker*
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Rock/Homing Pigeon
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruffed Grouse
Savannah Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Song Sparrow
Sora
Swainson'sThrush
Swamp Sparrow
Tennessee Warbler
Traills Flycatcher
Veery
Virginia Rail
Warbling Vireo
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Wilson's Warbler
Winter Wren
Wood Thrush*
Worm-eating Warbler
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow Warbler

A charitable organization, FLAP Canada works to safeguard migratory birds in the built environment through education, policy development, research, rescue and rehabilitation. This year marks FLAP Canada’s 25th anniversary. For more information, please visit FLAP.org and BirdSafe.ca.

SOURCE: FLAP Canada

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