Michael Mesure

From early childhood it was clear that Michael had artist talent, which lead one to conclude that a career as an artist was inevitable, but there was an underlying sign that this may not be the case mainly because of the subject matter he chose to draw...birds. As he grew up his fascination in birds would reveal itself time and time again.

Then, in 1989, a close friend of Michael mentioned that he had once read something about birds flying into windows at night in down town Toronto. Michael, both fascinated and horrified by this statement, had to check it out. In September of 1989, during the early morning hours, Michael went to investigate the Toronto financial district for fatalities. Once parked, Michael opened the door to his car only to find a bird at his feet. At that moment, he didn't quite realize that his life changed. It was only eight months later when shortly after rescuing over 100 birds in one morning that it became clear to Michael that his focus in life was changing.

Michael did, however, follow a career as an artist which took him through art college where in 1990 he ended up running an art gallery and antique shop with his sister, all the while devoting hundreds of hours to rescuing birds and educating building management and their tenants on light reduction. Five years later, both his Gallery and bird rescue demanded full time attention, so Michael had to make a decision as which would have to go. In the spring of 1996, Michael left his business to devote himself full-time to the birds.

Although Michael was not the first person to notice the tragic bi-annual pattern of migratory bird collisions with brightly lit office complexes, his experience of this in 1990 led him founding the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) just three years later. Gathering a group of dedicated volunteers around him, he began working to observe, record and rescue the victims in this tragic pattern. Michael's team worked hard to educate property owners and managers of this phenomenon and to teach them how they could help, and his steadfast dedication won through. In June of 1996, FLAP & World Wildlife Fund Canada came together to create the document titled Collision Course: The Hazards of Lighted Structures & Windows to
Migratory Birds and to develop the Bird-Friendly Building Program, a twelve-step program designed to encourage building managers and tenants to control the escape of light from their structures at night. Now, more than 100 properties are enrolled, many of which are making substantial reductions in night lighting.

Human-built structures have been recognized as a hazard to birds for more than a century. However, the accelerated rate of urban development in recent years has seen the proliferation of radio and television towers, office buildings, power lines, cooling towers, emission stacks and residential housing, all of which represent an increasing threat to birds. Across North America, over one hundred million birds collide with these structures each year. Some ten thousand of these birds are killed or injured in Toronto's downtown core alone. Many of these species are known to be in long-term decline, with some already designated as threatened, even endangered.

The Fatal Light Awareness Program is a volunteer charitable organization founded in April 1993 to address this phenomenon. Through its efforts, it has become clear how little we know of this tragic global event and how vital it is that this issue have a greater presence in environmental conservation.

FLAP - Fatal Light Awareness Program - Preserving The Lives Of Migratory Birds In Urban Areas
Michael Mesure

SPEAKERS

Bidwell, Tony
Buchanan, Bryant
Crawford, Dr. David L.
Dick, Robert Stephen
Dickinson, Terence
French, Randy P.
Hill, Tom
Hills, Reverend Johanne
Hollan, Jenik
Hummel, Monte
Lickers, F. Henry
Lockley, Steven W.
Mesure, Michael
Moore, Chad A.
Reid, Ron
Riley, John L.
Roberts, Dr. Joan
Rutenberg, Tony
Shaver, Dorothy
Welch, David
Whitehead, Brian
Wise, Sharon