Bird City Planning Starts

Our neighbors to the south and west, Hastings and St. Paul, are Audubon-certified Bird Cities, but not Stillwater - yet. Despite a resolution on the agenda to endorse Stillwater as a Bird City, the City Council did not bring it up for a vote, asking Community Development Director Bill Turnblad to take a closer look at what's on his plate already before committing to this new project. The City hopes to have that report from Turnblad at the December Council meeting. The city must pass the resolution before Audubon will work with us to make our city more bird-friendly.

Once the city approves the resolution, the next step is to hold a Migratory Bird Festival. We are planning to hold it on Saturday, May 23, 2020, at Washington Square Park in Stilwater from 10 to 1. This will be a family-friendly event featuring education on birds, especially migratory birds, and how we can protect them. International Migratory Bird Day will have children’s activities that will be provided at covered tables in the Park.

We hope to have a bird “guest” and are in touch with the Raptor Center and Carpenter Nature Center about this. Local birders will be enlisted to lead bird walks before and during the festival. We hope to have materials and “tablers” on bird safety, including window safety and habitat. As part of our fundraising effort, we need at least $1300 to be raised for bird "rental," printing, art supplies, and posters.

We need your help!

Contact Sheila to join the Bird City team.

doher4@comcast.net

The first Bird City Meeting will be held Dec. 4 - time and location TBA.

Bird City helps birds by:

• Restoring, protecting and improving bird habitat

• Reducing threats such as window collisions, toxins, and harmful human activities, often due to a lack of understanding of birds’ needs

• Engaging people in learning about, enjoying and helping birds thrive

Being a Bird City helps us grow our community’s environmental reputation by participating in this state-wide conservation program and displaying our Bird City status proudly. One in four Minnesotans considers themselves a birdwatcher – part of a $40.1 billion dollar annual industry in the US. Wild birds pollinate flowers, disseminate seeds, and help keep insect populations under control.

Robust, diverse bird populations reflect the underlying health of the ecosystem in which they – and we – live. What affects birds affects people too. Birds can be seen almost anytime, anywhere, making them a perfect gateway to the natural world. Finding birds is a great way to get out and explore new places with friends and family. Birds help open our eyes to the diversity and interconnectedness of nature. Outdoor recreation reduces stress, improves creativity, increases fitness and promotes social connections and community pride.