The Trumpeter Swan is Burlington's Official City Bird
The Trumpeter Swan is Burlington's Official City Bird!Burlington City Council unanimously approved a resolution from Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman and Ward 1 Councillor Kelvin Galbraith to make the Trumpeter Swan our official bird at our Dec. 12 meeting. This comes off the heels of Bird Friendly Hamilton Burlington undertaking a process to name our City Bird earlier this year and after voting from the community. On April 7, 2022, Nature Canada announced that Burlington was officially certified as a ‘Bird Friendly City’, largely due to the efforts of Bird Friendly Hamilton Burlington.To read a copy of the full motion memo from Counc. Sharman, scroll down this post or click/tap here: ADM-23-23 Bird Friendly City- Municipal Bird.pdf.
MY TAKE:This is terrific news and I'm very happy to see the Trumpeter Swan designated as Burlington's Official City Bird! The history of this bird is something spectacular and has a special connection with our city.The Trumpeter Swan was nearly hunted out of existence in Ontario by the late 1800s, but thanks to the efforts of groups like the Trumpeter Swan Restoration Group and residents like Beverly Kingdon (a Burlington Key to the City recipient), the Trumpeters were re-introduced into the province in the 1980s. Locally, we've seen the return of the Trumpeter Swan population to LaSalle Park, and the bird population thrive there.It's great to see this official designation come forward -- we know it has been a labour of love for many in our community and here at City Hall!MOTION MEMO:WHEREAS Burlington was certified by Nature Canada as a Bird Friendly City in April 2022, with re-certification required every 2 years;WHEREAS Nature Canada's criteria for Bird Friendly Cities include the selection of an official City Bird through a public engagement process, with the result endorsed by council;WHEREAS The Trumpeter Swan was chosen as Burlington's City Bird through a public engagement process conducted by Bird Friendly Hamilton Burlington from December 2021 to March 2022;WHEREAS The Trumpeter Swan's special connection to Burlington played a pivotal role in its recovery from extirpation.THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Trumpeter Swan be identified as Burlington's official City Bird; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT a copy of this resolution be circulated with Bird Friendly Hamilton Burlington.BACKGROUND:The designation of the Trumpeter Swan as Burlington's Official Bird contributes to the continued recognition of the City as a certified "Bird Friendly City" by Nature Canada.The “Official Bird” selection process was conducted by Bird Friendly Hamilton Burlington through a public poll in early 2022 with the trumpeter swan, northern cardinal and blackcapped chickadee coming in first, second, and third place respectively.The Trumpeter Swan is the largest swan species in the world Once extirpated from eastern Canada, the population of the Trumpeter Swan has recovered to self-sustaining levels thanks to the efforts of the Trumpeter Swan Restoration Program, which was established in the early 1980’s. The efforts of the program lead to Pig Pen, the first Trumpeter Swan to nest in Ontario in over 200 years, reestablishing the migration route of Trumpeter Swans to Burlington in 1993. The recovery of the Trumpeter Swan is one of Ontario's greatest conservation success stories.LaSalle Park is now home to over 100 Trumpeter Swans from December to March and has a dedicated group of volunteers from Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario that work tirelessly towards the continued conservation and restoration of the species. The Trumpeter Swan's significance to Burlington's history and the City’s continued role in the species' recovery make it a meaningful and appropriate choice for City Bird.RELATED LINKS: