Bird Friendly City: A Certification Program by Nature Canada

In the last 50 years, North American bird populations have dropped by more than 25%. Three billion of our birds, including common species that live in our towns and cities, are gone. This is massive.

We can reverse this trend with coordinated, science-backed action. Can you help Burnaby become certified Bird Friendly?

About the Program

Saving bird lives starts with local action! Across Canada, people are coming together to make their cities bird friendly.

Nature groups, municipal officials, and other community groups are teaming up with Nature Canada to ensure our urban environments are safe havens for birds rather than a source of threats. From predation by domestic cats, to window and car collisions, cities and towns present many preventable hazards to birds.

A Bird Friendly City is a community where:

• Key threats to birds are effectively mitigated;
• Nature is restored so native bird populations can thrive;
• Residents are actively engaged in admiring and monitoring local bird populations;
• Organizations are creating events to protect birds;
• Progressive municipal policies are created to protect urban bird populations; and
• A Bird Team has been created to oversee and lead these initiatives.

SAVE OUR BIRDS

Canada’s birds need your help. There are three billion fewer birds in North America today than 50 years ago. Much of these losses are caused by human activities – from predation by domestic cats, to window and car collisions.

Birds play an essential role in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems in our communities and our planet, cities and towns present many hazards to birds.

Nature Canada teams up with nature groups, municipal officials, and other community stakeholders to ensure our urban environments are safe havens for birds rather than a source of threats.

Click here to sign up for more information about the Burnaby Bird Team.

Certified Bird Friendly Cities

The following Canadian cities have been certified as a Bird Friendly City by Nature Canada. This means that they have met or exceeded a minimum standard with regard to reducing threats to birds in their municipality, protecting and restoring natural habitat and increasing climate resiliency; and actively engaging their community in these actions through education and outreach.  

The certification level awarded to the cities responds to the lowest level attained in the three categories of the Bird Friendly City Criteria. For example, if a city scores “High” level in 2 of the 3 categories but “Entry” level in the third, the final level of certification that said city would attain would be “Entry”.