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Eagle-eyed passersby may have noticed a change to City Hall’s north side.
Windows on the building’s bottom two floors now feature decals and stencilled dots.
These upgrades are meant to prevent birds from crashing into the glass by helping them recognize it as a wall rather than a continuation of the trees.
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David Forbes, chair of Bird Friendly Saskatoon, explained the trend bird lovers in the city were noticing that led to the change.
According to Forbes, volunteers go around parts of the city each morning to check for dead or injured birds. They noticed how many were flying into City Hall’s north windows.
Forbes said that in one month last year, more than 20 birds collided with them.
So, the group sent a petition to the City of Saskatoon in fall 2025 with more than 500 signatures, suggesting upgrades be made to the windows.
About one year later, those changes are now in effect.
According to Forbes, it cost $5,800 to make the upgrades on City Hall’s north side windows. (David Forbes/submitted)
Since the decals went up, Forbes said only one bird has flown into the glass.
According to Forbes, Saskatoon has many songbirds that migrate through. Ensuring their safety helps maintain the city’s biodiversity and keeps Saskatoon “alive and bright,” he said.
The decals and stencilled dots cost $5,800.
Forbes said the city’s environmental advisory committee covered that cost with unspent funds from the year.
City Hall isn’t the only building in need of an upgrade from a bird’s-eye view, though.
“The buildings downtown and at the university can be pretty hazardous to (birds),” Forbes said.
That includes the Remai Modern along the South Saskatchewan River and potentially the future downtown public library.
On the city’s edge, the airport also poses some dangers.
It “doesn’t have a lot of trees around it, but they have beautiful windows,” Forbes said. “They’re both attractive and a bit of a problem for birds flying into it.”
Even if birds crashing into windows isn’t the most pressing issue facing Saskatoon, for bird lovers like Forbes, that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant.
“I realize there are huge issues facing the city and this doesn’t seem like a big, big issue, but it is one that’s solvable,” he said.
