Best 9 Lives brochure, produced in partnership with the Humane Society of Kawartha Lakes with funding from Nature Canada, to encourage cat-owners to protect both cats and birds by keeping their pets indoors.
Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes Team
In March 2024, the City of Kawartha Lakes was certified as a Bird Friendly City through Nature Canada. The Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes Team and the Environmental Advisory Committee have taken the lead on obtaining and maintaining this designation for the City, and details on some of their work can be found below.
What is a Bird Friendly City?
Bird Friendly City Certification is a program that encourages local communities to take action to protect and support bird populations. In cities across Canada, various stakeholders such as nature groups, municipal officials, and community organizations are collaborating with Nature Canada to ensure that urban areas become safe and welcoming places for birds, rather than posing threats to their well-being. For more information, visit the Nature Canada Bird Friendly City website.
The City's Official Bird
It’s no coincidence the osprey, seen in the picture above, is central to the Kawartha Lakes brand. Dubbed “Ontario’s fishing hawk”, they can often be seen near water such as shorelines of large lakes, rivers and ponds. Osprey migrate, spending the winter months in the warmer south, much like many of our ‘snowbird’ residents. In fact, in 2024 the osprey was named as the City of Kawartha Lakes' official bird!
You might also see an osprey soaring overhead, whether in your urban backyard or in the secluded Carden Alvar in the north portion of our municipality. Watch for their large nests perched atop trees or hydro poles, a sign of efforts made by the community decades ago to ensure the ospreys made a comeback from dangerously low numbers. Graceful in flight, powerful and resilient by nature, the osprey is a fitting symbol of Kawartha Lakes.
Want to learn more about Bird Conservation?
Bird populations have been in steady decline for many years. There are now 3 billion fewer birds in North America than there were just 50 years ago. The most significant threats to birds are predation by roaming cats, collisions with windows, and habitat loss. Each year in Canada, cats are responsible for over 100 million bird deaths, collisions with glass cause 25 million bird fatalities, and urbanization and development have led to the loss of thousands of hectares of bird habitat.
Nature Canada has collected many bird conservation resources on their Bird Friendly City webpages, including information on cats, backyard gardening practices, and birding guides. Additional resources for reducing threats and creating a backyard that will attract birds by providing food and shelter can be found below.
Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP Canada) aims to prevent bird-building collisions across Canada. Site includes info on what to do if you find an injured bird and a variety of strategies for preventing collisions.
Tips for creating bird-friendly outdoor spaces can be found on Nature Canada's Bird Garden webpage.
Birdwatching Resources
There are lots of useful resources for anyone who wants to learn more about birds and birdwatching. Here are some great ones that we recommend.
This app identifies birds by photo, sound, or through descriptions.
The American Birding Association has put together a helpful set of guidelines for respectful, enjoyable, and thoughtful birding.
Guide to birding hotspots in our area, prepared by the Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes Team.
This website and app lets you log sightings and explore recent bird observations. They also have a list of birding hotspots around the province.
You can join thousands of people watching, learning, and contributing observations about birds in their own backyards by participating in the Project FeederWatch program.
Birds Canada has a wide variety of Canadian bird conservation resources and citizen science opportunities. They also offer free courses for beginner birders and volunteer training resources.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers an All About Birds tool for looking up birds based on photos, sounds, maps, and species details. They also offer a wide variety of courses, tutorials, and events to help you develop your birding skills.
The Ontario Field Ornithologists have a list of local birding and naturalist clubs which you can join if you are interested.
Birds Canada partnered with Environment and Climate Change Canada to create the comprehensive and engaging State of Canada's Birds Report.
The Kawartha Field Naturalists are a local naturalist club that offers outings, birding programs, conservation projects, and nature education opportunities.
2026 Accomplishments
Audits have been done on 9 City buildings to identify ways to make the buildings safer for birds. The audits have made recommendations such as adding decals to windows to prevent deadly collisions and updating landscape plantings to provide cover and food for birds.
Window Collision Deterrent Markers
Window decals have been added to the windows of the Bobcaygeon Library to stop birds from flying into them, lowering the number of bird injuries and fatalities.
Collaboration with Entente Education Canada
The Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes Team collaborated with Entente Education Canada District 18 Haliburton Kawartha Lakes (formerly the Retired Teachers of Ontario) to purchase 5 Backyard Birding Kits for the Kawartha Lakes Public Library. Each kit contains a set of binoculars and a birding guide, and they are part of the Library of Things which can be borrowed from your local library.
Collaboration with the Optimist Club
The Bird Friendly Kawartha Lakes Team collaborated with the Lindsay Optimist Club on a fundraiser for youth programming at the Kawartha Art Gallery. Together they provided plans for nesting boxes as well as tops in sitting and maintaining the boxes. The nest boxes were painted by local artists and sold in an auction.
