Bird Friendly City

Bird Friendly City and Official City Bird

Collage of bird images and artwork and spaces in Windsor

The City of Windsor in partnership with Nature Canada

In 2019 and 2020, the Pelee Island Bird Observatory (PIBO) worked in partnership with Nature Canada and members of the community to see the city of Windsor certified as a Bird Friendly City. On June 16, 2022, recognizing work to make the city a safe haven for wild birds, Nature Canada proudly announced Windsor as the 16th city in Canada to earn the designation. The city has implemented bird friendly policies and actions to help birds thrive in Windsor. These actions include the following:

  • Implementing a collaborative approach involving animal welfare groups, nature groups and researchers to mitigate bird mortality from cat predation
  • Developing municipal strategies to protect natural features, biodiversity and key habitat while implementing actions to achieve goals identified in the strategies
  • Presenting effective educational campaigns led by community organizations to raise awareness of the threats birds face in Windsor and provide information about how to mitigate them to protect bird biodiversity

The Bird Friendly City designation has been developed by Nature Canada to encourage Canadian cities and municipalities to become safer and better places for birds. Birds play an essential role in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems in our communities and on our planet. But there are three billion fewer birds in North America today than 50 years ago. Much of these losses are caused by human activities. As urban expansion continues, cities must act quickly to ensure that North America's bird populations are protected and supported. Nature Canada's Bird Friendly City program encourages communities to take action to reduce the number of human-related threats to birds, create safe environments for birds by promoting stewardship and ensuring that natural habitats are protected and restored, and engage and educate citizens about the benefits of Bird Friendly Cities and celebrating birds in our communities.

Nature Canada is pleased to acknowledge the support of Environment and Climate Change Canada for the Bird Friendly City program and World Migratory Bird Day.

Official Bird for the City of Windsor - the Tufted Titmouse

The City of Windsor announced the Tufted Titmouse as the city’s Official Bird on April 12, 2023. The Tufted Titmouse is a unique songbird with strong ties to oak woodland and oak savanna. As such, Windsor is one of the few places in Canada that this very social and vocal bird can call home. In Canada, this bird is only found in Southern Ontario. They make their nests in natural holes and cavities left by woodpeckers. These birds can be found in the oak woodland natural areas that are unique to Windsor, such as Optimist Memorial Park and the Ojibway Prairie Complex. As part of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island's annual Best of Windsor Essex Awards process in 2023, residents nominated and voted on five finalists. The Tufted Titmouse scored high with residents and received City support from Parks due to it being unique to the community. It beat out the Peregrine Falcon, Common Nighthawk, Black-capped Chickadee, and the Northern Cardinal.

Upcoming events

The Windsor Urban Birding Challenge is a new event created by The Pelee Island Bird Observatory. The event aims to introduce new birders to discovering nature in their city and to challenge experienced birders in an urban environment. It also incorporates the annual World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) celebrations, which have the theme of "water" for 2023. The challenge runs for 24 hours; however, you can choose the amount of time spent birding. Find details on the 2023 event here:

Bird Friendly City Certification Program Official City Bird Announcement Tourism Birding Site Pelee Island Bird Observatory Ojibway Prairie Complex Peche Island 8th Annual Best of Windsor Essex Awards World Migratory Bird Day Proclamation