What may be your toughest decision this election season has officially gone live – which bird is going to represent you, Vancouver?
The City of Vancouver has launched the city bird election, with one of four candidates slated to become Vancouver’s next permanent official city bird.
The candidates were selected through a process in which 1,300 residents contributed words that reflected the qualities of a Vancouverite. Those qualities were matched to four local birds. The contenders are as follows:
• Anna’s hummingbird
• Spotted towhee
• Northern flicker
• Varied thrush
Vancouverites can cast their votes online and in person through ballot boxes at workshop venues at the Hillcrest and Roundhouse community centres, as well as Central Library, the Stanley Park Ecology Society, city hall and the park board head office, now until May 14.
Residents can look out for the candidates at various bird events taking place as part of Vancouver Bird Week, running May 6 to 13. Voters can also “chat” with the birds up for election through Facebook Messenger by going to the City of Vancouver Facebook page and sending a private message.
The elected city bird will be used to highlight the importance of birds to the Vancouver ecosystem.
The inaugural city bird election in 2015 saw 708,000 votes cast. The 2017 nominee will follow in the footprints of predecessors like the black capped chickadee (2015) and sitting city bird, the peregrine falcon (2016).
The Vancouver Bird Advisory Committee is leading Vancouver Bird Week to engage citizens in a biodiversity strategy to protect native birds in the city. The efforts stem from various studies showing a 35 per cent decline in bird species along the Pacific Coast as result of habitat loss in the last half century.
More information about the city bird election can be found at vancouver.ca/city-bird
Vancouver Bird Week events:
• Free Early Bird Garden Entry at VanDusen Botanical Garden
• Free Birding Walk in Mandarin at Queen Elizabeth Park
• Bird Habitat Search Challenge at Jericho Park
• Kayak Birding Tour at Jericho Beach
• Crow Curiosity Bike Ride at Slocan Park
• Bird on the Beach at Stanley Park Nature House
