Unintended consequences
This beautiful Painted Bunting could have been saved.
Read on to learn more about how to make Chicago a safer city for birds.
If you live or work in Chicago, time is of the essence! Read about the proposed ordinance and call, visit, or write your elected official to ask them to support it. Find your alderperson here.
The Problem
Our beautiful city is killing birds in staggering numbers.
For thousands of years, birds have migrated in impressive numbers through the Chicago region.
Only in the last six or seven decades have birds had to contend with a new deadly peril—bright, shiny cities with confusing canyons of light and glass. The lights of our cities draw birds in. Once here, they fall victim to an unmoving and unseen menace—glass windows and facades.
The numbers are staggering. In North America alone, it is estimated that as many as 1 billion birds—yes, 1,000,000,000!—are killed each year by collisions with buildings. In just the Chicago Loop, more than 26,000 dead birds were collected over a ten-year period - and many more deaths were undetected.
It's not a small problem.
The Solution
Extensive research has given us the tools to solve this problem.
We know what causes bird collision deaths, and we know how to prevent them. We can make buildings that are beautiful, economical AND bird-friendly.
· Treat glass to make it visible to birds
· Design buildings in a way that minimizes risk to birds
· Prevent internal landscaping from being visible from the outside
· Eliminate the lighting that attracts birds to their death
All that’s left is the will to act.
Sweet Home Chicago
The City of Big Shoulders can solve the problem of bird collisions and mortality by amending the building code to require Bird-Friendly Design on non-residential and high-rise buildings.
We are happy to give formal or informal presentations at your organization’s gatherings.
There are many ways to help. Let us know how you’d like to be involved.