Group pushes for better protection to stop migratory birds from crashing into windows
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It is a dreaded and awful sound - a bird running into one a glass window and falling to the ground dead.
As CBS 2's Tim McNicholas reported Tuesday, a local conservation group says they're getting calls every five minutes about migrating birds meeting their demise.
More than 6.5 million birds pass through Cook County Monday night alone – and they're lucky they made it. Researchers say Chicago – with its massive skyscrapers – is the most hazardous city in America for migrating birds.
Local conservation groups are working to change that.
Annette Prince keeps her eyes on the sky all May – she spotted a pair of goldfinches in Humboldt Park when McNicholas met with her.
Prince is the director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, a group that tracks bird collisions and tries to protect dwindling species.
"We are approaching peak migration in the springtime," Prince said. "We worry that some of these manmade hazards are causing declines that some of these species at some point won't be able to recover from."
The group fields calls from people about dead or injured birds all over Cook County. Prince sent a photo of a variety of species of birds they found dead a couple weeks ago in the Loop.
"The more glass there is on a building, the worse it can be," Prince said.
Now, they're getting even more calls. A bird migration forecast map showed the Midwest would be a hot spot for migrating birds Tuesday night.
And a 2019 Cornell University study found Chicago, full of bright lights and big glass buildings right in the middle of the country, is the most dangerous city in America for migrating birds.
"We want to see any new buildings going forward in Chicago protected with bird-friendly design features," Prince said.
That means limiting the amount of glass used in new buildings, or using patterned glass so birds can spot a window.
The group is urging City Hall to make sure Bally's plans for a riverfront casino are bird-friendly.
"It comes to the tens of thousands of birds that are hurt by buildings every year coming through Chicago," Prince said.
The City Council has passed a measure aimed in part at making buildings more bird friendly, but a lot of the details of that plan are still being worked out. So groups like Bird Collision Monitors won't stop chirping anytime soon.
