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FLAP has big plans for International Migratory Bird Day on Saturday May 10 2014, including the launch of two innovative citizen-science applications to their website.  Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) is a Toronto-based advocacy and rescue group that brings awareness to bird and building collisions.

FLAP has been a big part of the SongbirdSOS story since we began developing the concept of the documentary four years ago. The footage we have gathered with them so far is striking: tireless volunteers racing through the streets of Toronto in the early hours of morning, rescuing injured and dead birds littered across the sidewalks. Another major element to FLAP’s mandate is public outreach, and these new web tools are sure to bring more awareness to the issues.

The first tool is FLAP Mapper, which enables users to enter a bird collision with a building anywhere in the world on a live web map. The data entered will help FLAP and other organizations gain a deeper understanding of the bird collision issue, as well as inspire new methods to reduce the threat.

The second tool is FLAP Tracker, a Bird Migration Intensity Report that amalgamates weather conditions, the moon phase, and weather radar to create reports on the concentration of birds as they fly through the Great Lakes Region. The application will help alert home and building owners when to turn lights out at night and when to treat windows during the day.

FLAP also engages in advocacy on the ground. If you’re in the Toronto area on Migratory Bird Day, be sure to check out their booths at Tommy Thompson Park at the Leslie Spit and the Toronto Zoo.

What are your plans for International Migratory Bird Day on Saturday?

SongbirdSOS is heading to Europe for some final spring shooting. Director Su Rynard left for Paris this week to meet up with her crew from Films a Cinq. While there she will be on the look-out for European songbirds and then go bird-watching in a German forest with music composer Dominik Eulberg. Eulberg is an electronic music artist and popular German DJ who has reconciled his love of ornithology with his talent, skill and experience in techno music. Internationally known for his work, he has released numerous singles as well as full-length albums on Traum Schallplatten and Cocoon Recordings. Described as the “a raving ornithologist from the Westerwald”, Eulberg’s fascination with birds means he not only uses bird sounds in his compositions but he also works as a park ranger in some German national parks.

After experiencing a dance club event with Eulberg’s music, Su and the crew will head south to the Konstance Lake area to meet with Dr. Martin Wikelski.  Wikelski is a world-renowned behavioural ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology.  He is researching the conservation of birds and small animals by studying how and why individual animals decide to go on the treacherous migratory journeys and secondly by educating the public about migration as a global phenomenon.   He is also developing an incredible app titled Movebank.

Wikelski was formerly at Princeton in the USA and he is now a leading scientist involved with the ICARUS project, a global undertaking with more than 100 biology laboratories across 17 countries.  With a team of dedicated scientists and engineers, he is working towards the miniaturization of live GPS tracking devices so they will be small enough for songbirds.   This means that in the future there is a real possibility we may be able to see the movements of songbirds during migration with real time  monitoring from the International Space Station.