After garnering more than 36,000 votes, the city of Calgary announced which bird would officially represent the city – the black hat.
The little bird ranked first out of five birds, taking a healthy 44% of the vote.
The black-billed magpie came in second with 24 percent of the vote, the northern magpie came third, the blue jay came fourth and the red-breasted jackdaw came fifth.
In Saturday’s announcement of a bluff overlooking the Weaselhead Natural Area in southwestern Calgary, county. Courtney Penner (who has been a team chickadee all this time) said bird voting has received more feedback than the Olympics.
The chicken with the black hat will be declared the official bird of Calgary at the city council meeting on June 7. (Sarah Jordan-McLachlan)
“I think that no matter who the winner was, what we saw was that the Calgary really took some time to stop and appreciate the wildlife we have in the city, to appreciate some birds. “We saw an incredible commitment to that,” she said.
“I know that the magpie has been fiercely challenged and there have been many people who have said that the magpie is the bird we really deserve and the chicken is the bird we are striving for, but I will say that I think the Calgars will be [ok with] the vote. “
In 2021, Calgary became one of the first cities in the country to be certified by Nature Canada as bird-friendly.
The city has partnered with Bird Friendly Calgary and Nature Canada to organize a bird vote in April to promote the certificate.
Ugh, what a lively fight! Calgary chose ….
Reporter: How about the official bird of choice pic.twitter.com/7LfhbJaHwc
– @helenipike
Bird-friendly Calgary said it had contacted all Treaty 7 countries, the Metis region 3 and bird groups to select the five birds voted for.
John McFaul, chairman of the Bird Friendly Calgary team, said the city’s bylaws, such as those related to lighting, are what make the city better for birds.
“I don’t think we’re doing badly in general, because the thing that’s really great about Calgary is that we have a lot of nice natural areas that provide homes for these birds.”
According to the city, North America has lost about three billion birds in the last 50 years due to a number of threats.
Corinne Eagletail-Fraser, an adviser to the Cuutin nation, said birds were valuable to many early nations.
“We see them as messengers and healers,” she said.
Eagletail-Frazier was surprised by how much commitment he received from the vote.
“I didn’t realize how much interest and respect there was for birds. It was an honor for me to be part of the initiative.”
count. Courtney Penner said she was a team chickadee from the first day of voting. (Helen Pike / CBC)
Penner hopes the vote on birds will help address the need to protect approximately 200 bird species in Calgary.
“It’s important to protect this diversity of natural areas in our city.”
The black hat will be recognized as the official bird of Calgary at the city council meeting on June 7.
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