Vote for the Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes 2024 Bird of the Year

Kawartha Lakes – Vote for your favourite bird to be named Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes 2024 Bird of the Year.

Saving bird lives starts with local action! In the last 50 years, North American bird populations have dropped by more than 25 percent. Birds face many dangers in our cities and towns, like being caught by house cats, flying into windows, or getting hit by cars. These are all dangers we can help prevent.

There will be two rounds of voting. The first round will close on Migratory Bird Day, May 11, 2024. The top five birds will move on to the second round of voting, which will close on June 28.

You can choose from:

• Northern Cardinal
• Black-capped Chicadee
• American Goldfinch
• Barred Owl
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Tree Swallow
• Eastern Loggerhead Shrike
• Osprey
• Downy Woodpecker
• Blue Jay
• Barn Swallow

Vote now

During the second round of voting, the Bird Friendly Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes social media accounts will feature fun facts about each of the five birds and why they’re important to our community. We can all get to know our feathered friends better, by learning unique facts like:

• How to identify each bird among similar-looking species
• How to identify each bird by sound, nest and eggs
• The history and best habitat for each bird
• The main threats to each bird species and ways we can reverse them

The official “Bird of the Year”, as voted by you, will be revealed on June 30. Stay tuned, get involved and let’s celebrate the amazing diversity of wildlife in Kawartha Lakes!

What is Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes?

Kawartha Lakes is on its way to becoming a certified Bird Friendly City.

A Bird Friendly City is a community where threats to birds are reduced, nature is restored so native bird populations can thrive, residents are actively engaged in admiring and monitoring local bird populations, and organizations host events to protect birds. When a city gets certified as Bird Friendly, it means they’ve met important standards to keep birds safe. Certification is a badge of honour and a source of community pride. It tells the world that our city helps birds and is doing its part to stop them from disappearing. Since 2023, Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes has been working with Nature Canada and the City of Kawartha Lakes to become a certified Bird Friendly City.

The Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes (BFKL) group submitted an application on behalf of the municipality in February 2024. The group consists of representatives from the Kawartha Lakes Environmental Advisory Committee, Kawartha Conservation, Kawartha Land Trust, Fleming College, Kawartha Field Naturalists, Kawartha Wildlife Centre, and Kawartha Bird Control.

Media contact: Thomas Luloff at thomas.luloff@flemingcollege.ca

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