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In 2009 Phil Walters, an industrial designer from New Zealand, created and installed cool metal bird silhouettes around his neighbourhood for fun. People loved them and wanted them and 10 years later Metalbird has become a global art project.

They have been designed as a collaboration between the North American Metalbird team and the New Zealand Metalbird team – these designs are exclusive to Metalbird. The lead designer is Phil Walters who started this crazy dream over 10 years ago in New Zealand.

Metalbirds are crafted in three small family owned factories right here in North America, before they're dispatched to you from our Salt Lake City warehouse. Come early 2021, we plan to have set up bird production in a factory right here in Canada.

Metalbirds are laser cut from Premium 1/7 inch Corten® steel.

A copper chromium alloy steel, our Premium Corten® Steel is weather resistant – it’s designed to quickly develop a patina, which then gives a layer of protection sealing in the steel and preserving it. It means that Metalbirds last for decades, with a patina that changes with the seasons. Corten® Steel is the steel you see use in high end exterior architecture. Once it develops a patina it looks beautiful for years.

When you install your Metalbird, you become part of The Metalbird Global Art Project. The project is created by all of you who, in the act of choosing that magic spot and putting up your bird, become artists in your own backyards. To join, tag your social posts with #mymetalbird so the whole world can see your epic installation.

Generally, we try to keep the birds as life size as possible, however we do have larger sizes available. You can find all the sizing information in the product descriptions.

"The hard part is picking the perfect location where the bird can be seen and is ideally silhouetted against the clear sky or a light single colour… take your time, find the perfect spot and be the artist. The easy part is installing it. Simply grab a hammer and tap, tap, tap it into a tree or post. If the wood is particularly hard, drill a hole a little smaller than the spike, and then hammer it in firmly making sure there is no movement in the bird."

Absolutely… in fact, over half of the birds we sell are gifts. When you check out, you can even include a personalised message on a beautiful card. *Please note, in compliance with Canadian customs at the border, we are required to include proper documentation that showcases the value of contents within the package. There will be paperwork included on top of the mailer bag, and not within the box.

Corten® Steel or ‘Weathering Steel’ is used in high-end exterior architecture, for good reason. Exposed to the elements, within weeks it develops a patina that seals the steel and preserves it for decades. It also leaves a beautiful even colouring that will get darker over the years. This means that over time, your bird will continue to deepen in color. Our 10-year-old Metalbirds look incredible.

The short answer is 'yes'. The better answer is our birds are made from Premium Corten® Steel which is a weathering steel. It wont deteriorate or crumble, quite the opposite actually - it's designed to develop a patina that then seals in the steel providing it with long term protection against the elements. We started the business 10 years ago in New Zealand and birds installed at the start still look great today with a beautiful patina that shifts with the season.

We’ve found that using secondary paint systems like powder coating quickly lead to failure. Paint doesn’t last well outdoors – it cracks, water gets in and rust leaks out. Self-sealing Corten® Steel is the way to go for a long lasting great result!

No – we’re not sure what goes through a real Whisky Jack's mind when it sees a Bald Eagle Metalbird, however, judging from the thousands of photos we’ve seen, real birds love sitting on, or next to our art pieces.

While anything that breaks the bark of a tree provides an opportunity for infection, in 10 years of running this project around the world we have yet to hear of a single tree that has died as a result of one of our birds being nailed into it. Our original birds are a decade old and the trees are showing no long-term damage whatsoever I guess what happens is that the spike on our birds is driven firmly in with little room to allow infection. Over time the tree will seal off around where the bird has been installed to protect itself from disease. We're not saying that it's not a potential issue. We're just saying that we don't believe it’s a big issue. In saying that… I'm glad I'm not a tree!

You have the right to cancel your Metalbird.com gift voucher within 14 working days of receipt provided that you have not used the gift voucher. In case of cancellation, Metalbird will refund the amount of the gift voucher to the original payment method used during ordering within 14 days of cancellation.

Don’t you hate it when gift vouchers expire? Well great news Metalbird gift vouchers are valid forever and only expire once you’ve used them! Feel free to redeem at a time that works for you… or pass it on to your family or to your friends.

Metalbird gift vouchers work just as you’d expect to use any other form of payment. Add your items to cart and proceed to the check out to finalise your order payment. If you get carried away and buy more than what the voucher is valued for, simply top up the final amount with your credit card or PayPal.

Yes! Treat your balance as cash, gift vouchers are just another form of payment.

Yes, your gift voucher is valid until every cent of the balance runs out.

Although we all love a gift that keeps on giving, unfortunately you can’t use a gift voucher to buy another gift voucher.

Absolutely, you can redeem multiple gift vouchers on one purchase during checkout.

We’re here to help, please email info@metalbird.ca and we will confirm your available balance within 24 hours.

Certainly, gift vouchers are applied to the final order total which includes shipping and taxes.

Realistically most discount codes cannot be applied to gift vouchers. The exception is a product specific discount code where the product is the gift voucher.

We aim to process your order within 24 hours of receiving it. Once your order has left our warehouse, you will receive an email with track and trace information for you to monitor your bird's journey. Your order will be booked on a 2 day FedEx Courier.

Please note: Couriers are already experiencing record volumes so there may be further delays outside of our control this Christmas period.

Metalbirds are sent as regular mail individually packed in a beautiful flat box.

At the moment, we only ship within Canada. If you'd like for us to to send a bird outside of Canada, please send us an email on info@metalbird.ca, and we will see what we can do!

Freight is $9.95 on all orders.

Yes. Due to us shipping our birds from Utah, in compliance with Canadian customs at the border, we are required to include proper documentation that showcases value of contents within the package. This will be paperwork included on top of the mailer bag, and not within the box.

All of our orders are shipped via Fedex. You will be sent a tracking number when your order is sent so you can follow your Metalbird's journey. *As of 27th of November* FedEx are utilising an alternative courier to assist with their massive volumes during the busy holiday season. Covid-19 has aided in an extra boost for online shopping this year, which has resulted in FedEx nearing capacity. Due to this, your order may be sent through SEKO which is an alternative courier company assisting FedEx with their overflow during the busy holiday period. This means that your tracking link may be supplied by Seko. It is our utmost priority to ensure your order is delivered to you quickly and efficiently.

We aim to have orders placed before midday shipped on the same day, but almost always within two business days to ensure you receive your Metalbird promptly.

Fedex will contact you so you can rearrange delivery.

No. Please ensure to use a physical address for delivery. 

Yes, you can. You just have to place an order for each address separately. Shipping fees will apply for each order placed. * Please note: in order to qualify for our Free Mini Cardinal, orders of 2+ birds must be going to one address. Orders shipping to multiple addresses will not qualify for the free mini.

Once your order has left our warehouse, we are no longer able to change the address or make any other amendments. If you still require a change of address, you must sign up with FedEx Delivery Manager, and request a change of address on delivery at a cost of $5.55 per package.

To receive alerts, provide delivery instructions, schedule a delivery, or deliver to another address, you can create a complimentary account with FedEx here to manage your delivery: https://www.fedex.com/apps/fdmenrollment/

A lot of love, skill and time goes into the creation of one bird. All up, over a week’s work to get it just right! We’re a small team and at this stage it just isn't feasible for us to do small one-off projects - as much as we'd love to. We will continue to add new birds to our collection. Please ensure you are subscribed to our newsletter to stay in the loop!

Visa, AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and QuadPay.

If you are not happy with your bird, please send us an email at info@metalbird.ca. Orders must be returned back to us within 14 days of purchase to qualify for a refund, return, or exchange. Postage for a return is the responsibility of the customer. 

XMAS EXTENDED RETURNS POLICY: 

All purchases made throughout the month of December, will qualify for our extended returns policy. If you or your recipient is not satisfied with the purchase, or would like an exchange, please contact us at info@metalbird.ca to arrange for a refund or exchange. You may return your items back to us up until January 11 2021. Items must be unused and in their original packaging. Please clearly state on your parcel your full name and reason for return. Once we receive your item, we will be in contact.