Toronto’s Bird-Friendly Guidelines

Posted by Rosemary Drisdelle May 16, 2007

In March, 2007 Toronto released a document titled “Bird-friendly Development Guidelines.” The city is trying to reduce the number of migratory birds that die each year when they slam into buildings—an estimated 1 million birds annually.

The guidelines are contained in a lengthy document that describes the problem of bird collisions with buildings and the need for a solution, and then moves on to detailed, abundantly illustrated examples of structures that are not so lethal to birds. There’s a strong focus on window design, and the careful use of glass—birds collide with glass because it reflects a clear passage back at them, or because it is simply transparent and therefore invisible. Toronto now advocates the use of awnings, patterned glass, grills and louvers, plastic film, artwork, and other things on windows that make glass more visible to birds.

A second focus of the guidelines is lighting and the need to reduce light pollution to both save birds and save energy—light spilling out of windows at night is a problem for migratory birds that use the moon and stars for guidance. Toronto isn’t advocating a dark city at night, but the guidelines do contain recommendations for light fixtures that direct light at the ground rather than the sky, and people are encouraged to turn off unnecessary lighting and close drapes and blinds.

Kudos to Toronto! The “Bird-friendly Development Guidelines” contain a wealth of information that will be useful for everyone from apartment dwellers and homeowners to large scale developers—and hopefully they’ll save many birds. Even better, anyone can access the Bird-friendly Development Guidelines as a PDF document on the internet.

Read about these and other dangers for migrating birds:

Migrating Birds and Buildings

Birds and Windmills

Chernobyl Birds Endure Radiation