An organization in Chicago that tracks such incidents says it has never counted such a large number of birds killed “due to a collision with one building in one day.” An unknown number of birds must also have been injured by the collision.
The migration of birds has begun
The extent of the animals’ suffering is due to the bird migration that began in the area last week. During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, about 1.5 million birds were said to be flying through the air in and around Chicago on their way from Canada to South America. The building that killed some of them, McCormick Place, is the largest convention center in North America.
In the coming days, Chicagoans will also see many dead birds elsewhere in the city, a bird expert told the British newspaper The Guardian. “They often continue to fly for a while after hitting a window. But they are still so badly injured that they still succumb.”
Bird-friendly building
The state of Illinois, where Chicago is located, issued a regulation three years ago requiring new buildings to be designed “bird-friendly.” This means, among other things, that windows should be equipped with signs and light pollution should be kept to a minimum.
The problem is that the new law has not yet entered into force. In addition, owners of existing buildings should also pay more attention to bird-friendly measures.
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