The glassy facades of Chicago's urban jungle prove deadly for migratory birds, with advocates pushing for legislation enforcing bird-safe building designs. As the city braces for another spring migration, the chilling toll of last fall's bird deaths at McCormick Place Lakeside Center, where an estimated 1,000 migratory birds perished in a single night, looms over the upcoming season.
Given the staggering figures, local groups like Bird Friendly Chicago are amplifying their plea for mandatory bird-safe standards in new developments. Annette Prince, director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, emphasized the urgency, saying "Whether something lives and dies should not be optional," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Despite four years of collaboration with the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, the guidelines for bird-friendly architecture remain voluntary perks that yield points for developers under the city’s sustainability plan.
The McCormick Place Lakeside Center, with its predominately glass exterior situated by Lake Michigan, has been branded a significant hazard for birds. According to a report by NPR, flying into the building, up to 961 birds were killed during last week's mass collision, marking an event without precedent over four decades of monitoring by Field Museum volunteers. Echoing this, Prince told NPR that "Birds like to fly in the fall when there is a north or a west wind," which likely contributed to the calamity as favorable conditions culminated in a tragic wave of flights that evening.
Proponents of bird-safe architecture argue that small design changes could have monumental impacts, such as decorative grilles or patterned glass that prevent birds from mistaking windows for open air. Tim Warren, sales manager for Torstenson Glass, recognized the problem and his company decided to offer bird-safe glass options in the wake of last October's collisions. Warren reassured clients, as quoted by the Chicago Sun-Times, "And that price will drop when demand grows," suggesting that increased applications of bird-friendly glass could make it more affordable.
While efforts in Chicago are mounting, the issue extends beyond city limits, with estimates suggesting that up to 1 billion birds die annually in the United States due to building collisions, as reported by the Smithsonian Magazine. In Illinois, measures are already in place requiring state-owned buildings to adopt bird-friendly designs, with calls for more widespread regulations echoing from San Francisco to New York City. With a draft for the revision of Chicago's sustainability plan expected on April 15, the city's bird advocates hope that their push for change will take flight, resulting in actionable policies to diminish future avian tragedies.
