Calgary’s city council meeting on March 30 was for the birds..Literally. For. The. Birds..In early March, a city committee endorsed an idea from Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner to have Calgarians choose an official bird for the city through online voting..At that time, a notice of motion brought forward by Penner was passed 13-1 by the city’s executive committee with only Coun. Sean Chu opposed..At the March 30 meeting the motion was approved and now Calgarians have the month of April to vote on their choice for city bird, choosing one from a list of five bird species shortlisted by Bird Friendly Calgary: The Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Flicker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay and Black-billed Magpie..Penner said the five birds were selected after consultation with indigenous groups as well as nature organizations..“In 2021, the city, with the support of Bird Friendly Calgary, received a bird-friendly designation,” said Penner. “Part of receiving that designation is having an official city bird.”.The designation was awarded by Nature Canada, with Vancouver, Toronto and London also being recognized as bird-friendly..Calgary is home to between 150 and 200 species that nest in the city while another 100 migrate through the city annually, said Penner..“It’s a little bit nominal, it’s fun, but what we’re trying to do is drive the conversation around the importance of integrating urban wildlife into the city, and talking about having a healthy ecological habitat,” she said. “While my children affectionately refer to them as bully birds, magpies are actually very good at keeping our city clean and they’re very good at keeping our city pest-free,” Penner said..“It’s important for Calgary to recognize that we have a very biodiverse neighbourhood. We are a bird-enthusiastic city.”.(Why does a vision of city council pop into my mind when I see the phrase ‘keeping our city pest free’?).Big cities present dangers to birds not found in rural areas, said wildlife biologist Daniel Arndt..“Buildings mimic high cliffs where they nest in the wild, where predators can’t reach them,” said Arndt. “In the downtown core, you may see peregrine falcons, merlins and prairie falcons nesting in big office towers.”.“On smaller buildings, you might find Canada geese, which is somewhat unique to the Prairies. A lot of the time, they’re ground nesters, but for whatever reason, they have a proclivity of nesting higher in our area.”.“Calgary has bird-friendly urban design guidelines, but there is certainly room to improve to decrease death and injury from window strikes and building design,” said Sara Jordan-McLachlan, a member of the Bird Friendly Calgary team. “Having this certification also provides further motivation for the city to ensure habitat connectivity and restoration is a priority.”.Calgarians can vote on-line for their choice of city bird until May 1. The winner will be announced on May 14, World Migratory Bird Day, and made official at the June 7 meeting of council..Bird Friendly Calgary is providing background information and educational material to help Calgarians learn more about the birds before they vote..For more info and to cast your vote go to https://engage.calgary.ca/CalgarysBird.It’s not all serious business though, said Dan Maclean, councilor for Ward 13..“I believe we have more important things to do. But, in the end, I did vote for it because I do like birds and, in fact, some of them are very tasty,” he said..And what the heck, maybe city council should have an official bird..Here’s a few ideas. Vote for your favourite..Vulture, for circling the nests of taxpayersChicken, for being afraid to meet the freedom marchersPenguin, for flapping their little wings and getting nowhere. The only way they’re going to fly is WestJet.Turkey or cuckoo. No explanation necessaryRooster, for the (a)woke crowd. Yeah, a bit of a stretchRobbin’ for increasing property taxes again this yearPigeons. Full of poopCanada goose. Nope, too much honking.Myke Thomas is a Western Standard contributor.Mykethomas@live.com
