Barrie bird watchers celebrate World Migratory Day

Local bird watchers in Barrie got out their binoculars to celebrate World Migratory Day on Saturday.

The group gathered at Sandy Hollow Buffer, looking for various birds.

Dorothy McKeown, the co-chair of Barrie Bird Friendly City Certification Team, says the day is recognized globally to recognize the birds that migrate.

"It is a time when a lot of the birds are migrating through here," McKeown says.

The day also emphasizes the different threats to birds by focusing on a different theme each year. The theme for this year was 'Dim the Lights for Birds at Night.'

Since the seventies, the bird population has dropped 70 per cent.

Birds use natural light from the moon and the milky way to migrate, ending up in the wrong location if there is an abundance of light pollution. Light pollution has increased two per cent each year, according to McKeown.

In the coming days, the City of Barrie is planning to certify the City as a bird-friendly city.

"It means that it's on the nature Canada website, so it helps with eco-tourism even because during the pandemic, birding has become very popular," McKeown says. "So we're advertised across Canada that Barrie is bird-friendly and that it's a good place to come and see birds."