Watch our press conference at Queen’s Park with @chrisglovermpp introducing the Bird-Safe Windows Act, 2023, featuring remarks from FLAP Canada’s Executive Director Michael Mesure, Research Coordinator Brendon Samuels, and Elder Dr. Bob Phillips.
Not many birds survive colliding with glass, but for those that do, we ensure they arrive safely at the @torontowildlifecentre to receive treatment for their injuries.
This Wood Thrush was found around lunchtime last week, having just recently collided with a very reflective building.
This could happen at your home or cottage.
Not all collisions happen at windows. Birds collide with glass railings all the time. This Cooper’s Hawk unfortunately collided with these untreated glass railings and did not survive.
It is so easy to make your glass railings bird-safe to ensure birds are not dying on your property. Draw a design with Oil-based Paint Sharpies, apply ABC Bird Tape, or Feather Friendly DIY! Whichever you choose, make sure you apply it following these recommended guidelines: spaces no more than 2 inches apart covering the entire surface of glass. If the railings are not reflective, the treatment can be on either side of the glass.
Treat your glass railings to be bird-safe and tag us! We would love to share your success stories.
#conservation #makewindowsbirdsafe #birds #windowcollision
UPCOMING COMMUNITY WORKSHOP! Create Nature-Inspired Bird-Safe Window Decals ✨🌿🐦
Did you know that more than 25 million birds die from window collisions in Canada each year? Prince Edward County is an important stopover for migrating birds, making bird-safe design critical to protecting local biodiversity.
Join internationally acclaimed artist Iris Häussler and landscape architect Victoria Taylor for a hands-on workshop exploring bird-safe gardens and window design. You’ll learn all about how birds perceive reflections in glass and create your own decorative vinyl window decals inspired by foliage, bark, fractal light, Art Nouveau patterns, and geometric forms. Each person will leave with their own bird-safe window decal creation to take home!
📅 Sunday, May 31, 2026
⏰ 1–4 PM
📍 County Arts Lab, Unit 2E, Picton Armoury Building
👥 Ages 18+
The afternoon includes a short sketching and photography walk through Delhi Park to observe patterns in nature through a bird’s perspective. Along the way, you’ll also learn about:
🌱 Native shrubs that support birds and biodiversity
🪟 Why reflective glass is dangerous for migrating birds
🎨 Creative DIY bird-safe window treatments and designs
Spaces are limited! Mark your calendars and register today through the Link in Our Bio!
@birdsafetmu@flapcanada@featherfriendly@nmlister@countyarts@iris.haeussler@vtla_studio
#BirdSafe #BirdConservation #CommunityWorkshop
#BirdSafeCity #BirdArt
Comment “BFC” for the link to Make Canada Bird Friendly!
This year’s World Migratory Bird Day theme, “Every Bird Counts” highlights the importance of citizen science, participating in community science programs and recording your sightings on eBird. Your observations help to support bird conservation science and action! But without creating safe, sustainable environments for birds to thrive we will continue to count less and less.
Most collisions are with windows in individual houses, some from low-rise buildings, and less than one per cent from high rises and skyscrapers. The problem only gets worse for birds that migrate each fall and spring.
Everyone has a role to play in reducing collision risk. Making windows visible to birds is the best solution. Other solutions include mitigating factors that attract birds or put them at higher risk, such as escaped artificial light from windows, and for home owners, placing features that attract birds such as bird feeders a safe distance from the windows.
Of all of the migratory species that we see in the Greater Toronto Area, the American Woodcock is always the first to move through in the spring, and the last to move through in the fall.
They are particularly susceptible to window collisions, especially nighttime collisions where lighting plays a huge factor.
Every single one of us can make a difference for these charismatic birds, see our recommendations in the last image.
*37 Woodcocks as of April 27th - this number has likely gone up, and does not include others we did not document.
This past weekend FLAP volunteers had a fantastic time at the Evergreen Brickworks Eco Fair!
We are happy to say that we will have tables at three more events this spring: the Guelph Bird Day coming up this Saturday at the University of Guelph Arboretum Centre, the World Migratory Bird Day event at the Richmond Hill Public Library on May 9th and the Spring Bird Festival at Colonel Sam Smith Park on May 23rd!
Thanks for having us @ecofairtoronto !
Today is #EarthDay and we are very excited to share this resolution that was just passed by Toronto City Council. The City of Toronto continues to show leadership in protecting migratory birds by committing to further retrofits of its public buildings to reduce bird collisions with glass, including Metro Hall and remaining windows at City Hall. By undertaking risk assessments of its buildings, the City is applying evidence-based measures to prioritize windows that pose the greatest risk. We thank Mayor Olivia Chow @oliviachow for bringing forward this recommendation and hope to see other municipalities follow suit!
The snow is melting… time to start thinking of what’s been sleeping under that snow!
Effective gardening practices play a crucial role in cultivating a healthy garden. While many gardeners are familiar with more common advantageous techniques (e.g., how to remove invasive species), there are also a variety of lesser-known practices that significantly improve sustainability, enhance biodiversity, and ensure long-term ecosystem health. This a compiled list of our top 10 favorite underrated good gardening practices:
🌱🌿 Join us at EcoFair Toronto, this Sunday! 🌍
Are you passionate about protecting our planet and making a positive impact on the environment? We're excited to invite you to the 2026 EcoFair Toronto at Evergreen Brick Works!
FLAP volunteers are ready to share our educational materials like our Homeowner Brochures and cottage postcards, and to help promote effective solutions that will save birds lives.
🗓️ Date: April 26, 2026 (Sunday)
⏰ Time: 11 am - 4 pm
📍 Location: Evergreen Brick Works, (550 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON)
🙂Free admission!
Happy Volunteer Appreciation Day!
These photos were taken of FLAP volunteers by @nathanr.fernandes at our Annual Bird Layout. Between helping to sort birds, laying each individual bird out, greeting guests at the door and helping to clean up afterwards, our volunteers put in a massive amount of work to ensure this layout was a huge success!
FLAP would not be where we are today without our incredibly dedicated and passionate volunteers. Now that spring migration is really gearing up, bird rescue patrollers are out around the GTA putting in countless hours rescuing birds and collecting collision data, and our volunteer drivers are on call, ready to get those birds to the Toronto Wildlife Centre for treatment!
Volunteers are also advocating for bird-safe practices and educating not only the public through social media and outreach events, but building managers and owners to get the buildings they patrol treated with bird-safe window markers.
The list of ways that FLAP volunteers support the organization, each other and the birds is endless. A huge thank you to every volunteer that is or has contributed their time over the past 33 years to save as many birds as possible from building collisions.
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Annual Bird Layout this past Saturday to witness these birds lost to window collisions, roughly 3000, but only a small percentage of the overall issue.
We appreciate everyone documenting and sharing on social media – tag us to make sure we can see your posts! If you’d like to directly share any photos or videos of the event with us, we have set up a google drive for this purpose: link in bio!
Photos: FLAP, and @nathanr.fernandes
