Unsung Heroes

Since they work through the night, security guards in Toronto's office towers are often the first ones on the scene when birds start crashing into the towers. Thanks to the educational efforts of the Fatal Light Awareness Program and the Toronto Humane Society (THS), the guards know what to do when they find a stunned bird. Many of them routinely pick up live birds and keep them in a paper bag or box until FLAP members or THS staff can retrieve them. Some guards have even had to exercise ingenuity or tax their employers' patience to rescue birds.

Early one morning, as she tried to escape a marauding human (me!), a ruby-crowned kinglet darted into the Royal Bank tower. In a panic she flew from one end of the lobby to the other. Unable to find a means of horizontal escape she decided to try the vertical approach: she landed on the ceiling about 30 feet up.

After pondering the problem for a bit (no, they didn't have any ladders tall enough) Tony Belchior decided that he could dislodge her by flicking wads of paper at the ceiling. This had no effect. How about a penny? With my heart in my mouth I watched as he threw the coin. I needn't have worried. The penny hit the ceiling with a satisfying ping, about a foot away from the kinglet. Startled, she fluttered down to the floor and into our waiting net.

Last fall, as construction on the Toronto Dominion bank proceeded, a scaffold of sorts was set up, ostensibly to collect debris from the rooftop. It was wedged into a corner with the stray flaps of plastic secured to the building with tape. One morning I discovered that a common yellowthroat had become trapped behind the partitions. Thinking that this was a job for two people I called on the security guard at the Ernst Young tower. From inside the glass-walled building Todd Henry directed my movements as I wrestled with tape and plastic and partitions. But just as I cleared away the last of the obstructions the yellowthroat seized her chance and escaped. I was sure I'd lost her. Luckily, Todd saw where she'd landed, only a few feet away, and helped me rescue her from that dead-end alley.

To all those caring individuals - security guards, sidewalk sweepers, window cleaners and office staff - who have helped even one bird, we extend our deepest thanks.