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The Messenger: What can we do to stop the death of songbirds?

Farming and infrastructure are hurting the planet’s songbirds, but there are ways to help
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A Canada/France co-production, ‘The Messenger’ travels to different points on the globe and tries to draw on several experiences that point to the demise of songbirds in our environment. Photo: The Messenger film

I was recently asked to be on a panel discussion for the opening night of The Messenger.

The movie travels to different points on the globe and tries to draw on several experiences that point to the demise of songbirds in our environment. Sections of the movie are like chapters in a book where you become quickly aware of the dangers migratory birds face every year and the reasons why populations of so many of our feathered friends are declining. 

Dramatic footage of night time hunting behaviour in free ranging cats might quickly make you want to revaluate you letting kitty out for the night. Bright lights left on all night during migration makes you realize that you may be influencing bird behaviour in a negative way and need to rethink why those lights need to be on in the first place. 

Drinking coffee in the morning seems like an innocent enough event in one’s life. The film touches on one of the many reasons why migratory birds are on the decline due to fragmentation and the rapid loss of tropical forests due to agriculture practises. 

A sequence in the film shows how some research is showing the benefits to mixed vegetation growth within those coffee bean farms and products that you can purchase to support these new agricultural practises. It is far from a standard practise however.

Our own backyard: Many local readers may have experienced the demise of a migratory bird first hand by finding it lying prone on the front lawn of the large picture window. This can be magnified many fold in large high rises in big cities. 

This is the demise of hundreds of migrants as a result of the reflections on the glass of their windows and the lighting they give off at night. Some estimate 600 million deaths a year through window strikes alone. Specialized glass and films that cut the reflection down and show an almost invisible pattern to birds helps reduce this tragic event. 

Implementation of these types of glass and light restrictions is an ongoing need to help the migrants. The film touches on several aspects of these horrible phenomena. Locally, the Laurentian University School of Architecture has innovatively placed some of this specialized glass on their outward faces. 

Have a look next time you walk by. Consider your own windows. Are bird strikes a common event with you?

Joanne Jackson attended the opening night and was the film producer along with Sally Blake. The film is a Canada/France co-production directed by Su Rynard. Dr. David Pearson was Master of Ceremonies and Phil Strong the movie composer, was there to talk about the many subtleties with mixing accurate bird song to dramatic film footage. 

The audience had a unique opportunity to talk first hand with the filmmakers and got to see a separate segment on how certain unique footage was taken.

The movie will be shown at the Downtown Movie Lounge in the Rainbow Centre until Oct. 6.
Certainly a must for anyone to see.

The film runs about an hour and half and will be made available for education purposes as well as important conservation enlightenment.

Chris Blomme is an executive member of the Sudbury Ornithological Society and works with animals at Laurentian University. Have a question for Chris? Send it to [email protected].


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