Migrating birds are enjoying new protections along their flight path, as more Midwestern cities take action to prevent them from colliding with skyscrapers. While McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, is installing bird-safe window film, Rochester Art Center in Minnesota uses artwork to deflect birds from the building. The solutions may be different, but they have the same goal: to keep birds safe.
According to the National Audubon Society, 70% of North American birds migrate, and 80% of those birds migrate at night. But light pollution is making it more difficult for these birds. Natural light sources are becoming more challenging to see, as bright city lights confuse the birds and draw them off their path. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology estimates that as many as 1 billion North American birds die annually from crashing into windows and buildings.
David Willard saw this firsthand on October 5, 2023 at McCormick Place when he found almost 1,000 songbirds that had flown into the windows of Lakeside Center dead in the grass.
“It was just like a carpet of dead birds at the windows there,” Willard, a retired Chicago Field Museum manager, told WGN 9 News. “A normal night would be zero to 15 (dead) birds … In 40 years of tracking what’s happening at McCormick, we’ve never seen anything remotely on that scale.”
After the incident, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) — which owns McCormick Place — immediately began researching a solution. The MPEA was already a participant of the Audubon Society’s Lights Out Program, which encourages large buildings to turn off or dim lights at night during migration months. While that has helped reduce the number of bird deaths, it was apparent that more needed to be done.
In summer 2024, McCormick Place began installing window film scored with small dots to help birds differentiate between window and sky. This innovative solution has sparked hope that other buildings along the migration route will follow their example, potentially reducing the annual number of bird collisions.
Although the Rochester Art Center does not participate in the Lights Out Program, its own unique solution also helps birds distinguish between windows and the outdoors. According to KTTC News, the front windows of the building display a poem, while the back window shows various designs depicting elements of nature.
“I wanted to make sure the imagery had a lot of high contrast forms in it and colors or like values, so that it was clear this is not a window — like, this is a flat, like, pane wall that you cannot get through,” Alyssa Baguss, who designed the back mural, told KTTC News.
Everyone can help keep birds safe. Decorating windows with decals and patterns, closing curtains, and putting screens outside windows are solutions anyone can implement at home to keep birds on the right flight path.
Lady Freethinker commends the MPEA and the Rochester Art Center for their proactive measures to help keep birds safe during migration season and year-round. Their efforts to protect birds are truly appreciated.
