Saving Birds One Window at a Time — Safe Wings Ottawa

About 360 species of birds travel through and/or live in Ottawa—various sparrows, thrushes, warblers, and woodpeckers, to name just a few. Drawn into downtown by the building lights at night, they try to make their way out of our bustling downtown core in the morning, invisible to busy commuters even after they fall on the sidewalk from colliding with a window. In Ottawa, 250,000 birds are estimated to be killed yearly by colliding with glass. This is unsustainable. Take a walk in downtown Ottawa with Safe Wings to find out why birds collide with windows, which buildings have implemented bird-friendly design, and what other buildings, architects, and residents can do to help birds.

Safe Wings Ottawa is a program of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club that works to reduce bird mortality from window collisions through research, rescue, and education. Led by Safe Wings Ottawa volunteer Janette Niwa, we will explore a part of the downtown core and discuss building features common to many building types that make them hazardous to birds. Janette will point out bird-friendly treatments and explain why some are successful, and some are not. Participants will learn why birds collide with windows, and about best practices and strategies they can employ to make their home or workplace safer for these captivating creatures. 

Everyone has access to a window, and if we all made a little effort, together we could make a big change for the better to prevent one of the top human causes of bird mortality, window collisions!


Note that May 11, 2024 is World Migratory Bird Day.


Learn more about Safe Wings Ottawa at safewings.ca.

Learn more about the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club on the OFNC website.

Location
Route

We'll meet at the north entrance to City Hall (Marion Dewar Plaza, 110 Laurier Ave). From City Hall, we will walk over to 160 Elgin, then walk towards Parliament stopping at 55 Metcalfe and ending up at the National Arts Centre (1 Elgin Street) where the walk will end.

About the walk leader

Janette is a volunteer with Safe Wings Ottawa, helping monitor buildings for injured or dead birds, transporting injured birds to rehab at Safe Wings or the Wild Bird Care Centre, and is the lead for community events. The daughter of a veterinarian father and a bird-loving mother, she's a life-long animal and nature lover, having planted trees in University and currently volunteering with a number of nature and animal organizations.


Guide:

Janette Niwa

When:
Date:Sun May 5, 2024
Time:10:30 AM
Duration: 1 hour
Language: English
Where:
Start:Ottawa City Hall, north entrance
End:National Arts Center, 1 Elgin Street
Area:Downtown
Distance:1.0 km
Accessibility:

The walk will follow city sidewalks.

Gallery
This Northern Saw-Whet Owl is currently in rehabilitation with Safe Wings Ottawa (2024). Route of Safe Wings walk An indigo bunting stunned or killed by a collision with a window. Blackburnian Warbler Flycatcher
Volunteer to Marshal This Walk