Bird Friendly Buildings in Toronto - I see dead birds everywhere

[Admiral Beez]

I would guess that outdoor cats kill more birds than buildings do.

 

[DSC]

I am posting this here, though thread has (like many birds!) been very dead!

Infrastructure and Environment Committee consideration on July 7, 2022

IE31.21

ACTION​

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Ward: All​

Next Steps to Make Toronto Safer for Birds​

Origin​

(June 23, 2022) Letter from Councillor Mike Layton, Ward 11, University-Rosedale​

Recommendations​

Councillor Mike Layton recommends that: 1. The Infrastructure and Environment Committee request the Executive Director, Environment and Energy and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, in consultation with the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, and Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Transit Commission, and other relevant staff to report to a meeting of Infrastructure and Environment Committee in 2023 on efforts to ensure all structures on City of Toronto properties are compliant with the City's Bird Friendly guidelines.​

 

[SubHuman]

The concern regards mostly "forest-inhabiting and insect-eating migratory birds like warblers and flycatchers".

These birds often fly at high speeds through small openings in the forest canopy hunting for bugs, a feeding method that may put them at greater risk of running into glassy surfaces that reflect vegetation.

These generally are not birds you see every day in the city or suburbs, other than maybe in some of the forest areas of the larger parks.

During the day, these collisions result from birds mistaking reflections of open skies or nearby vegetation for the real deal. At night, when most birds migrate, lit-up buildings disorient and attract them, luring them not just off their migratory paths, but straight into collisions.

https://nowtoronto.com/news/more-than-2-400-birds-collided-with-buildings-in-toronto-las
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/bird-collisions-nyc-1.6179426
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The birds building nests in the middle of the letters of the signs above storefronts, as pictured earlier in this thread, are almost always House Sparrows, an introduced species regarded as more of a problem to be controlled and reduced, rather than needing protection. They attack and drive away other species (bluebirds, tree swallows, chickadees, and many others).
https://www.rvcc.ca/Eastern_Bluebirds_at_the_Rouge_Valley_Conservation_Centre.html

House sparrows social, not always nice

They’re extremely aggressive competitors for nesting sites

www.burlingtonfreepress.com

Managing House Sparrows (Control) - Sialis.org: Info on Bluebirds & Other Small Cavity Nesters

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www.sialis.org

 

[marcus_a_j]

Not a building, but I came across this mirror along the Leslie Spit. Nice to see bird-friendly designs being implemented in more situations.