We Are London's Bird Team

We believe that birds have a central role in our modern lifestyle. Creating access to birds and nature benefits human wellbeing. Together we can transform our urban spaces into beautiful and sustainable environments that support bird populations.

Bird populations are rapidly falling across North America and beyond; a major study conducted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology reported that we have lost three billion birds in North America over the last 50 years. Many of the species are ones that we can observe in our cities and towns, and have fallen victim to multiplying dangers including: habitat loss and degradation due to urban sprawl and development, declines in insect populations, predation by outdoor pets, light pollution and window collision, and disturbance of their nesting or roosting sites.

In these days of COVID-19, with less traffic and industrial activity, we can hear birds more easily and observe wildlife in places we never did previously. We remove a bit of the urban pressure and nature responds positively. Therein lies an opportunity we do not want to miss. As we emerge from the societal effects of COVID-19, Nature Canada wants you to join us on a path towards the recovery of nature within our communities. This is our opportunity to make the places we live in safer and better for birds and the rest of nature, including us.

The Bird-Friendly City campaign is an initiative started by Nature Canada. A Bird Friendly City is a city that is creating safer urban environments by focusing on three main aspects: reducing threats to birds, restoring habitat and natural spaces, and educating and mobilizing the public.

This program is lead on a local level by a motivated group of people who make up the Core Bird Team for London, which currently includes representatives from:

London Environmental Network
Nature London
Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre
Friends of Stoney Creek
The Advanced Facility for Avian Research at Western University

This local Bird Team is supported in their initiatives by Nature Canada in a variety of ways, which includes a structured template on actions Bird Teams can pick and choose from, support in developing campaign strategies, grants for initiatives, helping mobilize the citizenry, etc.

Bird Friendly London is generously supported by funding from Nature London.