Windsor is for the birds, literally: City earns 'bird-friendly' designation

While southwestern Ontario is well-known for its birding hotspots, Windsor can now officially call itself a "bird-friendly city." 

The region is the 16th Canadian city to be awarded the designation by Nature Canada, which signifies that it has taken action and created policies that seek to protect birds and help them thrive. Windsor joins a few other cities in the province that have also been certified, such as London and Toronto. 

Windsor had been vying for the title since early 2021, which is when the Pelee Island Bird Observatory (PIBO) began working on a report for certification. 

"It's very exciting," said the City of Windsor's environment and sustainability coordinator Jennifer Nantais. 

"The City of Windsor cares about birds and all of the residents who enjoy seeing them in their yard, hearing them ... it means that we care about nature and about the environment."

Nantais, who previously worked at PIBO, has been spearheading efforts to get the city its official designation. 

Nature Canada began its bird-friendly city program in 2019 and is working to recognize 30 Canadian cities that meet a checklist of items. 

To be a bird-friendly city, Nature Canada said a region must meet a certain number of criteria in the following three categories in order to be certified:

"A bird-friendly city is a community where birds are celebrated, defended and protected," said Autumn Jordan, Nature Canada's urban nature organizer. 

"This certification is a badge of honour for the city and all the folks involved in it." 

Windsor is currently in the entry category of the program, meaning it has met about 50 per cent of the points within each of the three categories. But Jordan said if city and community leaders are prepared to do the work, they can increase the city's score and earn a higher bird-friendly status. 

Jordan said Windsor scored especially high in terms of its community outreach and education, but she said it could do better on the following: 

Donny Moore, a local birder and nature photographer, told CBC News that he thinks the designation is well earned and hopes it will encourage people to become more educated on the importance of the region for various bird species. 

"I've lived in this area for 14 years and we see changes of birds, different amounts of birds of certain species," Moore said, adding that when he first moved here he rarely saw bald eagles and now he can't go out bird watching without seeing at least one.