Home Town of Ollie the Osprey Celebrates Six-Year Anniversary
Annapolis is celebrating six years as an official Bird City, a recognition program of Bird City Maryland. Annapolis values its commitment to conservation. In addition to its Bird City recognition it is also a 13-year participant as a Certified Wildlife Community through the National Wildlife Foundation, a 34-year participant in the Tree City program, and a Bee City. Recognition from these programs, including many bird-friendly actions, contributed to Annapolis earning silver-level certification from Sustainable Maryland in 2025. The city earned its first Bird City recognition in 2020 as a High Flyer and completed 21 action points as part of its renewal this year.
Bird City Maryland banners lined Main Street in Annapolis during Spring bird migration.
Annapolis completed actions in four categories: Habitat, Threats to Birds, Education and Engagement, and Sustainability.
The Annapolis Conservancy Board is the first public land trust in Maryland. It is an Annapolis City Commission dedicated to conserving environmentally sensitive lands for recreational, cultural, and ecological benefits such as bird habitat through gifts, bequests, and sale or lease agreements. The Annapolis Conservancy Board works with City staff, property owners, local land trusts, and other government agencies to preserve and maintain green space around Annapolis in the form of conservation easements that will permanently protect environmentally sensitive land, improve water quality, and provide additional recreational resources for the citizens of Annapolis.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has installed special window treatments to reduce and prevent bird collisions at the Tawes State Office Building.
Window treatments to prevent bird collisions at the Tawes State Office Building.
Annapolis’s Signature Bird is the Osprey. Ollie the Osprey participated in the 2026 celebration of World Migratory Bird Day downtown and helped educate the community about the impacts of climate change on bird migration. Bird City Maryland banners lined Main Street during Spring migration.
Annapolis supports alternative transportation in its community as part of their sustainability plan. The city is transforming its historic streets into vibrant, accessible spaces where walking and cycling create a more connected Annapolis.
Ollie the Osprey helped to host Annapolis’s 2026 World Migratory Bird Day celebrations. Photo by Ashleigh Diaz
The Bird City Maryland program, an initiative of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership (marylandbirds.org), was started in 2019 as a way to encourage communities in Maryland to enhance the environment for birds and educate the public about the contributions birds make to a healthy community. Communities must complete three actions in the Habitat category and at least one action each in the other three categories, as well as pass a resolution committing to becoming a Bird City. In 2023, Bird City Maryland joined the National Bird City Network, a joint venture of the American Bird Conservancy and Environment for the Americas. The Network unites and connects independent Bird City programs throughout the hemisphere who work directly with local communities to envision and complete bird-friendly actions. Together we form a powerful collaborative force–connecting people and helping birds across the hemisphere. Bird City Maryland is proud to have our state’s capital as a Bird City!