Being an ally to neighbourhood birds

Originally published in Lake of the Woods Area News, Volume 55, Number 4, Fall 2025

Birds make efficient use of the brief summertime window of warmth and abundant food to raise their babies here on Lake of the Woods. As volunteers working with our local licensed wildlife custodian, every summer day brings floods of phone calls, texts and Facebook messages: “I’ve found this bird! Who can help?” We are tagged 20 times on a post. Word of mouth is awesome.

15 things bird neighbours should know:

1. Vet clinics are usually able to provide contact information for licensed wildlife custodians. 
2. If safe, contain injured birds in a box with a cloth on the bottom, and make sure they are propped upright. A towel rolled into a donut can provide a stable seat for an injured bird. Supplemental heat from a rubber glove or plastic bottle filled with warm water helps. Until the bird can be taken into care, put the box in a warm place (not in direct sunlight), away from animals and people. Avoid leaving an injured bird—
   if possible, safely contain it and bring it to a licensed rehabber or stay with the bird until help arrives. Resist abducting adorable baby animals even though they appear friendly.
3. Do not give birds water by mouth. They have an opening in the back of their tongue that goes straight to their lungs. When they choose to drink, they can control this mechanism, but when they aren’t expecting water, it drowns them.
   We have learned that very nice people sometimes accidentally waterboard baby birds. No water, please!
4. Don’t do anything that puts you in danger. Birds are beautiful but pointy. Be careful of talons, long necks ending in stabby beaks, traffic hazards and trespassing. Practice good hygiene—always wash your hands. If the bird appears to have respiratory problems, wear a face mask. 
5. Send pictures and video, as well as the exact location where an injured bird was found, and a list of any people who have had contact with it.
6. Keep cats indoors and dogs under control. Kenora has a bylaw against allowing cats to roam. Adorable but murderous, cats are major drivers of songbird decline, accounting for
   75 per cent of human-related bird deaths in Canada. Songbird fledglings are especially vulnerable because they spend many days hopping around on the ground, learning from their parents how to be great at doing grown-up bird things. Birds caught by cats need antibiotics, even if they look okay. Cat claws and teeth inflict deep, Pasteurella bacteria-contaminated puncture wounds, rupturing air sacs and tearing organs. If your free roaming cat catches a bird, get the bird to a rehabber as soon as possible. Consider a donation to offset the cost of antibiotics, specialized food and care during the prolonged recovery period. Best of all, commit to keeping your cat indoors. Outdoor cats have shorter lives that end painfully. Cat-attacked birds often need to be euthanized. It is depressing on all fronts and is entirely preventable. Within city limits, contact animal control/bylaw enforcement to send roaming cats to the Kenora Cat Shelter—it may save the cat’s life.
7. Window-strike birds may have spinal/head trauma, fractures and soft tissue damage. They are extremely vulnerable to predators, so collect them into a box and contact a rehabber. They may perk up after an hour or two, in which case they can be released if limbs are okay—just don’t open the box in your house! Reduce the risks of bird window strikes by using bird-safe glass, UV-reflecting stickers/fluid/decals, tempera paint, window markers, dangling CDs, specialized netting or dangling cords. Consider window placement—how would this look to a bird?—and use bird-safe glass for new builds. Check out stopbirdcollisions.org/solutions-glass/ for strategies for your home or camp.
8. Birds do not want dryer lint, yarn, fabric scraps, or any other supplementary nesting materials. They can lose limbs or toes from entanglement or end up dangling from trees. Dispose of shredded tarps and waffle-weave feed bags appropriately. Cut plastic dome-top cup lids and pop can rings.
9. Collect discarded fishing line and tackle and avoid use of lead sinkers and gear. Loons are weirdly interested in eating lead sinkers off the lake floor. Hunters can prevent scavengers and birds of prey from getting lead poisoning by using steel, bismuth or tungsten shot, and making sure that discarded gut piles do not contain lead shot.
10. Glue traps are horrifyingly inhumane and kill non-target species. Rodenticides cause second hand death of non-target species, like owls and hawks. Except for Cedar waxwings and American goldfinches, nearly all boreal songbirds rely on insect populations to feed their young, so insecticides should likewise be avoided.
11. Avoid cutting trees—living or dead—during nesting season. Watch for cavity-nesting birds like flickers and nuthatches. In a quest for hollow trees, Common mergansers and other cavity nesters may dive down chimneys, causing walls to hiss and rattle menacingly. In addition to being an awful way to die, this is also a fire hazard. Bird-safe chimney caps will prevent surprise visits from a sooty, angry, pescatarian Santa Claus.
12. Watch for birds, turtles and other animals when driving (help turtles cross the road!). If safe, move roadkill off the road so scavengers do not get hit. Road salt and sand attracts flocks of slow-moving winter finches, so drive cautiously during winter. Slow down when driving watercraft near the shore, so that you don’t flood loon nests. Enjoy the view instead.
13. Noise (and light) from fireworks, dirt bikes, ATVs and watercraft can cause injury, distress, and abandonment of wildlife babies. Be quiet near nesting areas.
14. Clean up fallen birdseed to prevent salmonellosis, and clean and refill hummingbird feeders daily or every few hours if it is hot out. Plant native fruit-producing trees and shrubs like mountain ash, cranberries, and blueberries, and be rewarded when robins, flickers and Cedar waxwings come to dine. 
15. Short lawns near water = geese. They just really like it. If you don’t want a goose army, what you need is a naturalized shoreline with taller grasses and native plants. Ask LOWDSA’s LakeSmart team for tips on naturalizing your shoreline.

Wildlife rescue is unpaid work done by licensed volunteers following strict rules. Expenses are paid out of pocket by wildlife rehabbers, by donations of cash, goods, or services, and by small grants. We truly appreciate community support and encourage everyone to learn about the wildlife species in our area. Apps like Merlin (merlin.allaboutbirds.org) and inaturalist.org are amazing tools for finding out who is in the neighbourhood. While enjoying time at the lake, we can marvel at the nature around us, and the community that shares this appreciation. We do wildlife rescue because we love animals, but also because it is an amazing way to meet our kindest neighbours.