Birds and buildings traditionally do not get along well. Window strikes are an issue in almost every major U.S. city because birds do not see clear or reflective glass and do not understand that it is a lethal barrier. And when they see plants or bushes through windows or reflected in them, they head for them, killing themselves in the process. In the case of one Chicago building, the results of such interactions were deadly.
Nearly 1,000 songbirds perished recently after crashing into the McCormick Place Lakeside Center ‘s windows, the result, according to avian experts, of a deadly confluence of prime migration conditions, rain and the low-slung exhibition hall’s lights and window-lined walls, according to the AP.
Conditions were ripe for a massive wave of songbird southern migration over Chicago, said Stan Temple, an avian expert. Small songbirds feed during the day and migrate at night to avoid air turbulence and predators. They have been waiting for northerly winds to give them a boost south, Temple said, but September saw unusually warm southern winds that kept birds in a holding pattern here.
That night, a front swept south, providing a tailwind, and thousands of birds took to the skies. The birds swept south over Chicago, following the Lake Michigan shoreline and right into a maze of illuminated structures, Temple said.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
