Bird Friendly Calgary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bird Friendly Calgary is volunteer organization located in Calgary, Alberta focused on the protection of birds and other urban biodiversity.[1]
| Formation | 2020-11 |
|---|---|
| Website | https://www.birdfriendlycalgary.ca/ |
History
The Calgary Bird Team was established in November, 2020 by members of local environmental groups, the City of Calgary, and interested citizens.[2]
Calgary was first certified as a bird friendly city in 2021 by Nature Canada's Bird Friendly City initiative.[3][4][5]
In April 2022 Bird Friendly Calgary partnered with Nature Canada and the City of Calgary to hold a vote to choose an official city bird.[6] The winner was announced in May on World Migratory Bird Day and officially recognized in June, which was the black-capped chickadee.[7] The vote was held to promote Calgary's certification as a bird safe city the previous year.[4][8][9]
In 2025 the organization began its Lights Out for Birds campaign which encourages city residents to turn off their lights from 11pm-6am during spring and fall bird migration.[10][11][12][13]
In November 2025 Calgary became the first city to be certified as "bird friendly" three times.[3]
Programs
City Bird Vote
In April 2022 Bird Friendly Calgary partnered with Nature Canada and the City of Calgary to hold a vote to choose an official city bird. The winner was announced in May and officially recognized in June, which was the black-capped chickadee.[4]
Lights Out for Birds Campaign
The group has worked to educate high-rise dwellers and downtown workers about light pollution's impact on birds and bird-building collisions.[3] They also started a campaign to encourage city residents to turn off their lights from 11pm-6am during migratory periods.[11][12][10][13]
Partners
Organizations that Bird Friendly Calgary has partnered with include Nature Canada, Nature Calgary, Calgary Urban Species Response Team, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Calgary Centre, and the City of Calgary.[14]