Canada/Gatineau wants to become "bird-friendly

After Gatineau "ville amie des aînés", the municipality is now looking to add another title, that of "ville amie des oiseaux". This week, municipal council members gave the green light to an application to join Nature Canada's certification program.

If all goes well, Gatineau hopes to be designated a "bird-friendly city" in September.

This initiative was on the radar of the Club des ornithologues de l'Outaouais (COO). Its members were part of a working committee that considered the issue alongside Ville de Gatineau employees, representatives of the National Capital Commission (NCC) and the community of Kitigan Zibi.

We've been waiting four years for this," notes COO president Jean-Marc Emery.

More than 300 bird species can be observed on Gatineau territory, the club points out. According to Mr. Emery, the Deschênes district in the Aylmer sector has been identified as the fifth best place in Quebec for birdwatching.

He calls the Masson-Angers area a wetland bird paradise. Lac Beauchamp, Lac Leamy, Moore Farm and Gatineau Park are also popular birding areas in the Outaouais region, he adds.

Birds contribute to soil fertilization and pollination. They help clean up carrion and control insect pests and small mammal pests on our farmland," explains Jean-Marc Emery. They are essential to our physical and mental well-being. In fact, we need them much more than they need us.

The COO hopes to work with the Ville de Gatineau to reduce threats to birds and protect their habitat. The club points out that some species are in serious decline, according to Nature Canada.

Club member and biologist Daniel Toussaint hopes that Gatineau will now tackle the presence of stray cats, a very serious problem for birds.

During his address to elected officials on Tuesday, Toussaint recounted that the COO conducted a study in 2020, in collaboration with the University of Guelph and Nature Canada, to document the city's stray cat population. Some 60 cameras have been installed throughout Gatineau, he noted.

Encouraging urban birds

In Canada, 30 cities have been certified as bird-friendly. Of these, only three are in Quebec: Dorval, Hudson and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.

Anik Des Marais, councillor for the Mitigomijokan district in the Aylmer sector, says this designation recognizes the efforts of municipalities that take concrete measures to benefit birds in urban environments.

The city is demonstrating its commitment to nature conservation. We're doing this for the birds, but also for humans. It improves the quality of life of the birds that contribute to the beauty and serenity of our green spaces," said Des Marais. Gatineau's nature is a magnet.

In the coming weeks, the Club des ornithologues de l'Outaouais plans to launch an online and in-school consultation to choose an emblem bird for Gatineau.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/