SOUTH LOOP — Conservation groups are calling on McCormick Place to more routinely turn off its lights to protect migrant birds while advocates push the city to enact bird-friendly building rules.
Every year, millions of birds pass through Chicago as they migrate south, but thousands die from crashing into urban infrastructure, said Annette Prince, director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors. Birds are not used to buildings being along their historical migrating route and often are drawn in by bright lights, advocates say.
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A frequent problem is McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center, 2301 S. Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive, where 1,000 birds were killed Oct. 4-5 from slamming into the building’s windows.
Lots of birds were traveling along the lakefront that day due to favorable flying conditions, but a front of low clouds caused the birds to fly closer to the skyscrapers, Prince said.
The lights at McCormick Place Lakeside Center were turned on at the time, which attracted the birds.
“It’s certainly the biggest mass casualty event we’ve seen, but tens of thousands of birds have died at McCormick Place and other buildings over the past four decades,” Prince said. “This happens every night, and it’s awful because it’s preventable.”
The lights at McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center are typically turned off, but they were left on Oct. 5 because there was an event, said Cynthia McCafferty, a spokesperson for Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns McCormick Place.
Chicago’s Lights Out program only requires buildings to turn off lights when a building isn’t occupied, according to the city’s website.
Turning off the lights when the building isn’t being used has helped reduce bird collisions at McCormick Place by 80 percent, McCafferty said. The company “is committed to conservation efforts that reduce collisions,” she said.
Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority’s leadership team spoke with conservation groups last week to understand steps they can take to protect birds, McCafferty said. Prince said she hopes to meet with the leadership team in the next few weeks, but the center needs to shut off lights every night or draw interior blinds to most effectively protect birds.
“Tens of thousands of birds have died at that building, and they’ve been made well aware for decades that their building has dangerous lights and dangerous glass,” Prince said. “Each time, they’re concerned about it, but they don’t make all the necessary changes that would reduce risks, like turning the lights off or drawing the blinds every night.”
Peter Strazzabosco, deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development, said the city is aware of the issues at McCormick Place Lakeside Center. The city’s sustainability staff anticipate joining conversations with design experts and Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority leaders about how to further mitigate collisions, he said.
McCormick Place also maintains a 6-acre bird sanctuary, which provides “a lakefront area with fenced-in grasses and wildflowers where migrating and local birds can find a safe home near our campus,” McCafferty said.
The problems for birds extend beyond McCormick Place, though.
“McCormick Place is in a critical position, but there are so many other buildings where the same thing happens,” Prince said. “So many places are just one perfect storm away from becoming the next mass casualty event.”
Bird Friendly Chicago, a coalition of conservation groups, urged the city to enact bird-friendly building requirements before the end of the year.
City officials are finalizing rules for bird-friendly designs on new projects, Strazzabosco said.
A draft of the guidelines, part of an update to the city’s sustainable development policies, will be available for public comment later this year, Strazzabosco said.
For now, building owners and neighbors can help make existing structures safer migrating birds.
People can help by turning off lights at night or drawing their blinds so birds aren’t attracted to the windows, Prince said. Hanging decals or banners on windows can also make them easier for birds to see and avoid, advocates said.
“We really applaud the buildings that participate in these simple acts, because they’re protecting birds that are critical to the health of our environment,” Prince said. “We enjoy birds, but we need them, too.”
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