Of the 529 species of avifauna found in North America, 57.3% of the them are in decline (Rosenberg et al., 2019). Migratory waterbirds depend on wetlands and inland waterbodies for food, habitat, and nesting but these habitats have been increasingly degraded  or destroyed by urban and agricultural development since the 1900s (Ward et al., 2010).  While cities like Edmonton contain hundreds of water bodies within the city limits, these come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, which may not be suitable for the needs of wetland-dependant birds (Anderson & Rooney, 2019; Kuczynski et al., 2012).

Conventially, urban stormwater ponds have served as nothing more than drainage, with low consderation for aesthetic or ecological value (Figure 1). In recent years, the City of Edmonton has begun to building constructed wetlands and naturalized ponds to manage surface water in new neighbourhood constructions as part of their ecological connectivity strategy. These wetland stormwater facilities often feature more complex shapes, shallow banks, native vegetation and internal features, such as islands (Figure 2), and have been shown to have higher perceived biophysical and social value (Rooney et al., 2015). In my personal experience of birding as a hobby, I have been deeply intrigued by these features and have wondered if my perception that these special features host increased species diversity is accurate (Figure 3).

In an increasingly urbanized landscape, with bird populations in decline, design improvements to already necessary stormwater facilities would be an easy sell to municipal governments: cities need them and people like them.

But, my question is: 

Do birds actually care about constructed wetlands?