BIRD-FRIENDLY BUILDING PROGRAM
LIGHTS AT NIGHT- A THREAT TO MIGRATING BIRDS

Our Goal is to reduce migratory bird collisions with buildings brightly lit at night and their reflective windows by day. We need your continued support. Office buildings that implement the following action steps as a bird-friendly building earn the right to display the official FLAP Bird-Friendly Building logo. By following these simple action steps, we can make every building safer for migrating birds.
  
       
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FEATHERED FACTS

Many of Canada's 250 species of migratory birds are in decline. Habitat destruction and pollution threaten them on their breeding grounds in Canada and on their wintering grounds in the U.S. and Latin America. In addition to these threats, millions of birds die or suffer injuries from collisions with buildings lit at night as they journey north and south. Millions more collide with their reflective windows by day. In fact, across North America 193 birds die every 60 seconds due to collisions with human-built structures. Many of these species are known to be in long-term decline, with some already designated as threatened, even endangered. Every year, some 10,000 birds are killed or injured in Toronto's downtown core alone. But this is one problem that we can solve.
A SIMPLE SOLUTION

By taking a few simple steps, like turning out lights at night and eliminating the reflective quality of windows during the day, we can prevent this unnecessary toll, and save energy and money, too. Office building managers, owners, tenants and employees share a responsibility to solve this problem. The Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) is working to inform Canadians and Americans, both at home and at work, about the dangers of buildings to migratory birds.You can help save migratory birds from collisions with buildings. It's simple. First, turn out lights at night and investigate solutions to the problem of day-time collisions (see section on day-time strikes). Second, enroll in the Bird-Friendly Building Program. Here's how:
If you are....a BUILDING MANAGER.....enroll in the Bird-Friendly Building Program.
a BUILDING OWNER.......have your Building Manager enroll in the program.
a BUILDING MANAGEMENT COMPANY..........enroll in the program.
an OFFICE TENANT or EMPLOYEE...urge your Building Manager to enroll.
EDUCATION

  • Implement the following educational strategies that carry the message about reducing bird collisions with your building:
  • Elevator News
  • Lobby Signage
  • E-mail migration alert to tenants and staff in spring and fall
  • Educational Displays
  • Bulletins
  • Tenant and employee workshop
  • Tenant manual
  • Notice in seasonal newsletters to tenants
LIGHTING CONTROL STRATEGIES

  • Program building's lighting system to achieve a measurable reduction in night-lighting from 11 PM to 7 AM, or - ideally - ensure that all lights are switched off during that period.
  • Extinguish all exterior vanity lighting (roof-top floods, perimeter spots…) during the migration periods.
  • When lights must be left on at night, examine and adopt alternatives to bright, all-night, floor-wide lighting.
Options include:
  • installing motion-sensitive lighting
  • using desk lamps & task lighting
  • re-programming timers
  • adopting lower intensity lighting
  • reducing perimeter lighting
  • re-scheduling work and night cleaning
  • establishing interior working areas
  • using blinds and curtains
TENANT RELATIONS

  • Work with reluctant tenants to ensure that they comply with BFB guidelines: coordinate meetings between FLAP and tenants, establish guidelines for tenants, offer incentives to reward positive action.
  • Participate in the BAGS (Bird Action Group Stations) program by setting up stations where concerned tenants and staff can pick up bags, nets, gloves and literature that enable them to rescue birds.
BUILDING A SAFER ENVIRONMENT

  • Implement measures (window film, netting or other) to prevent birds from hitting windows at ground-level in high-collision areas.
  • Eliminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on your grounds in favor of natural methods of pest control.
STAYING ON COURSE

  • Report to FLAP on your progress every spring and fall using the e-mailed questionnaire sent out to you early in the season. (This includes providing copies of all educational tools employed and supplying FLAP with light energy consumption data.)
  • Strive for a built environment safe for birds and people by implementing the above-mentioned measures and developing partnerships with neighboring towers to ensure safe passage for night-migrating birds.
For more information on bird collisions or the Bird-Friendly Building Program, please contact:
Fatal Light Awareness Program
Royal Bank Plaza, Lower Concourse, P.O. Box 20, Toronto.Ontario M5J 2J1
416 366-FLAP (3527)