Chicago Bird Collision Monitors

CBCM is featured in the DCEFF award-winning short film Broken Flight, which looks at the role window collisions play in the world-wide decline of birds.

There will be a free virtual screening of Broken Flight for a limited time (through Sunday). Follow this link to watch:

Wings of Dust | AWARD SHORTS: Wings of Dust + Eric Moe Award Finalists | DCEFF 2024 Virtual Encores Vidal Merma, a Peruvian Indigenous journalist, risks his life daily to secure a future where his son, Erik, can savor the simple joy of drinking clean water.

Listen to an interview with CBCM Director Annette Prince on the WCPT 820 AM radio program "If Cage Walls Could Talk."

https://soundcloud.com/wcpt820/if-caged-walls-could-talk-july-13-2024

The program airs every Saturday from 5-6 pm with host Jodie Wiederkehr, Founder and Executive Director of the Chicago Alliance for Animals (CAA),

If Caged Walls Could Talk July 13 2024 Where FACTS MATTER! We are the progressive itch you needed to scratch! Listen to all of our shows to find out what is going on in today's politics. Follow our socials on our LINKS tab!

Join Chicago's bird collision art project!

Tens of thousands of birds die each year as they travel through Chicago. Artist Holly Greenberg is raising awareness about the over 200 different species of birds that visit our area during journeys between their southern wintering homes and summer breeding grounds only to collide with the glass at our homes and businesses.

Attend a workshop and make a replica of one of the thousands of birds recovered by Chicago Bird Collision Monitors in 2023.
These replicas will be added to a completed "carpet" of birds stretching 300 feet to help us understand the tragic scope of the problems that lighting and glass pose to these beautiful visitors to our city.

Learn how to make your home or workplace safer for birds!

For more info: https://www.hollygreenberg.com/bird-collisions-anthropocene

Chicago Tribune July 12, 2024

McCormick Place installing window film to reduce bird collisions After nearly 1,000 birds crashed into the lakefront building last fall, activists are gaining momentum in their efforts to make Chicago safer for birds.

Little pigeon takes a plunge!

An alert caller spotted a young pigeon floating helplessly in the Chicago River below the Clark Street bridge one Friday morning this summer and contacted Chicago Bird Collision Monitors. It was hanging in there – but exhausted and wet. With no way to reach the bird from shore, we tried to find someone with a boat to assist in a rescue.

Some boaters complained – "why would I rescue a pigeon?" The question should have been – "why would I let a harmless creature drown?"

Here is the happy hero we found who was paddling by in their kayak and willing to give the little bird a ride to safety!

The pigeon is under the good care of our friends at Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue. http://greatlakespigeonrescue.org/

We hope that little bird will return to the skies and stay safe from aquatic adventures in the future!

Come see CBCM and learn about migratory bird protection (and monarchs!) at the 2024 Monarch Conference and Celebration at the Brookfield Zoo this Wednesday, June 19th.

A full day of activities and guest speakers include:

Dark Skies Chicago
Forest Preserves of Cook County
Sag Moraine Native Plant Community
Chicago Bird Collision Monitors
Brookfield Zoo Chicago
Illinois Monarch Project
Cook County Farm Bureau

CBCM is once again honored to have been selected to participate in the Great Hearts Community giving circle. A big thank you to everyone who voted.

Each vote you give in this round turns into a $5 grant, up to $1,000 per organization. Voting is open now through June 27.

Click on the link below to vote -

The June Great Heart Award After reviewing the nominated causes, vote for the ones that you think should receive a grant from the Great Hearts Community giving circle. Each vote you give turns into a $5 grant, up to $1,000 per organization. A total of $15,000 is available to be awarded. Voting is open now through June 27 or u...

Come see CBCM and learn about migratory bird protection at the College of Complexes June meeting this Saturday.

Dapper's Restaurant
2901 W. Addison, Chicago Peregrine Program
http://www.collegeofcomplexes.org/June.html

Come see CBCM and learn about migratory bird protection at the Welles Park Eco Fest this Saturday.

Where: 2333 West Sunnyside Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618
When: Sat, June 1st, 2024 at 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Tragic Mother's Day Story

We are sorry to report that the mother owl from the North Pond family was found this morning, covered in blood and dead on a sidewalk in Lincoln Park. The owl was observed throughout the week with concerns that she showed signs of uncontrolled bleeding which could indicate her ingestion of rat poison from prey she found in the neighborhood. Residents and nature lovers are dismayed at the profusion of rat poison traps that encircle buildings around North Pond.

It appears that this dedicated parent met the fate of her mate and offspring. Test results for the deceased fledgling and other parent owl, have recently come back as suspicious for death from anticoagulant rodenticide. There was widespread internal hemorrhaging in their bodies without obvious signs of external trauma. The mother owl will be sent for testing also.

Chicago was fortunate to have this lovely family grace our parks but unfortunately did not give them the protections they needed to survive.

Russ Smith, who took this photo of the family says: "North Pond must feel very empty this morning...and will for a very long time. They were such a beautiful affectionate family."

Rodent control with dangerous poisons must not be allowed to endanger our local wildlife. Demand that Chicago (and all municipalities) find non-toxic methods for pest control.

NBC Migration story 4:30 and 6:00 pm - today

See a story about migration, CBCM, and Willowbrook on NBC news - channel 5 -at 4:30 and 6:00 today.

See a scarlet tanager that Mike rescued and other birds from today's team!

Go birds!!!

Ok, so they're not birds, but they're bird-adjacent!

In 2021, New Zealand voted the long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus), also known as the pekapeka-tou-roa in Māori, as New Zealand's Bird of the Year!

If you'd like to learn more about bats, in Illinois and around the world, take a look at this class at College of DuPage. Contact the Field Studies office for registration information.

Radio interview on WGN with CBCM Director Annette Prince.

The reason advocates say Chicago doesn’t do enough to protect migrating birds Annette Prince, the director of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, joins Lisa Dent to explain why Chicago’s plan to help prevent the injuries and deaths of migrating birds when they fl…

Crane Mania!

At 4 am Monday April 23, the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors hotline took a call from a driver making a delivery to World Wide Produce on South Wolcott Ave. in Chicago, reporting "a large white bird with bands and an antenna on its legs." They thought it was an escaped exotic bird or someone's pet. Well, CBCM gets a lot of calls about banded racing pigeons – so to determine what the caller had spotted we asked for a photo and were stunned to see a whooping crane walking around the darkened warehouse yard in the midst of truck traffic!

The driver said people were just taking pictures and shooing the bird around trucks, but she felt she needed to call someone. CBCM's Annette Prince headed down to the warehouse to see if the bird needed help. Arriving around 5 am, she found the spot where the whooping crane had been reported and plenty of people who had pictures of the bird on their phones, but no bird.

They said the crane had walked around the lot all day on Monday. It had been seen just an hour before, but had headed north across the lot. Searching around the distribution center and surrounding streets, Annette found no trace of the bird and hoped it had safely moved on.

To our surprise, we received reports in the afternoon that a whooping crane had appeared in Wilmette. Colored leg bands showed that it was the same bird. Some folks from the IL Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) kept watch over the bird until members of the International Crane Foundation were able to drive down from Wisconsin to capture and move the bird to a better location.

The crane did not appear to be injured, and someone joked that this wayward crane, migrating north from the southern U.S., must have made a stop at the distribution center looking for some fresh produce before continuing her early morning flight up to the northern suburbs!

Whooping cranes are federally endangered – they are the second-rarest bird in North America, after the California condor. They don't nest in Illinois but are regularly seen during migration.

This particular bird (known as 16-23) was raised at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI and was released into the wild last year. She was part of a small flock of cranes that migrate between Wisconsin and Florida. This was her first northward migration and apparently just got separated from her flock.

An amazing bird moving across our landscape during the waking hours like the millions of others that will be migrating in our night skies over the coming month!

What a privilege for Chicago to host these fantastic travelers each spring and fall !

Photo credit: Scott Judd (capture photo)
The parking lot picture was sent to the hotline so we have no credit information.

Tragic Loss

The offspring of the nesting pair of great horned owls at North Pond was found dead on April 30th below the tree where it was raised. You may remember that the male parent was found dead in mid-April.

With extensive bleeding from its mouth and no other external injuries, there is a great fear that rodenticide could be the cause of death.

Poisoning of mice and rats can have deadly consequences to the predators like hawks and owls that feed on them. Both this young bird and its father have been sent for necropsies and testing to determine if toxins contributed to their demise.

There are concerns that the remaining parent may also be affected by ingested poisons.

What a terrible loss to a lovely resident family that delighted so many observers in Lincoln Park.

As long-time resident and nature-lover Scott Holingue commented: "looks like the owls were a very temporary gift."
Please work to limit access to garbage and food sources that could promote rodents, and support non-toxic methods of pest control.

Photos below:
• Happier days – young owl and parent on March 3, 2024; credit Allison Lukens
• RIP little owl, April 30th, 2024

There will be a screening of the documentary Cat City, about Chicago's love/hate relationship with feral cats tonight (Apr. 26) at The Plant (1400 W 46th St) at 7pm.

Following the film, Annette Prince, CBCM Director will participate in a panel discussion on the topic.

The event is free and open to the public but you need to RSVP beforehand. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cat-city-screening-at-the-plant-tickets-850892732067

More info here: https://www.insidetheplant.com/events/catcityscreeningattheplant

The Plant At The Plant today: 9am-4pm: Turtle Stop 9am-4pm: Packingtown Museum 4-11pm: Beer + BBQ in Whiner’s taproom

It's time for the next round of the Great Hearts Community Non-profit grants.

Follow the link below to nominate CBCM to be included in this round. Nominations are open through April.

Nominate Your Favorite Causes Through April, nominate your favorite cause for the next Great Hearts Award. We would love to hear from you about the nonprofits you feel are making a real difference and deserve recognition. Nominate your favorite causes for a chance for them to be featured in Great Hearts Community newsletter/soci...

Chicago's new Sustainable Development Policy does not require bird safety measures

On Monday the Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) released a draft of its 2024 Sustainable Development Policy (SDP). In its work with Bird Friendly Chicago, its partners and supporters, Chicago Bird Collision Monitors asked the city of Chicago to make bird protection mandatory in this update, a measure that would be critical in preventing bird mortality. Unfortunately the DPD failed to do so, even in the face of overwhelming public support for this measure.

We are disappointed that Chicago chooses to ignore a serious threat to wildlife. As the American city that poses the greatest risk to migratory birds, Chicago should be leading efforts to provide bird protections. Instead, peer cities outpace Chicago on this issue while demonstrating these requirements can be implemented with no significant delays or expense to building projects.

Requiring bird-friendly measures for new buildings and major renovations through the SDP is a small step toward making a safer city for the millions of birds that travel through our region. These birds play a critical role in the health of the environment, and their declining numbers should impress upon the city the urgency to protect them.

We extend our deepest gratitude to all the Chicago residents who spoke up in favor of requiring bird-friendly design standards in the DPD’s Sustainable Development Policy, and we ask all concerned members of the public to send their appeal that protections for birds should be mandatory during the draft policy's 30-day comment period. Public comment can be submitted by completing this survey and by emailing [email protected].

Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SDP24

Sustainable Development Policy: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/sustainable-development-policy/home.html

Tragic loss of favorite Lincoln Park Owl

We are sorry to report the death of one of the pair of great-horned owls that so many Lincoln Park observers delighted in watching as they raised their young over the past months at North Pond. After being found sitting weak and unresponsive in the rain this Sunday in the shallows of the pond, the owl passed away soon after being rescued by Chicago Bird Collision Monitors. With a large amount of blood coming from its mouth there is a strong suspicion that the owl ingested poison from a rat or other animal it captured.

CBCM will take the bird to Willowbrook Wildlife Center to have it examined for a possible determination of cause of death.

Rodenticides are dangerous methods of pest control that put wildlife, pets, and even children at risk for secondary poisoning.

Please encourage your neighbors and municipalities to find non-toxic alternatives for combating mice and rats.

Our hopes are that the remaining parent and young will not also fall victim to rodenticide exposure. We hope these owls can continue to be healthy, vital, and cherished members of "wild Chicago."

Journey ended

Flying from as far away as Central America or the Caribbean, this beautiful yellow-bellied sapsucker – killed at a Chicago building – won't make it to its breeding grounds to raise its young.

Chicago must protect migratory birds by mandating bird-friendly design requirements for new buildings. Take this survey by March 31st and rank #13 (Bird Protection) as "Very Important." Then, leave a comment in section 15. Ask friends, family, neighbors to voice their support and take this survey too.

Survey ends tonight!

Reposting because the link to the DPD survey didn't come through for everyone.

Tell the Mayor protecting birds is not optional
An estimated tens of thousands of birds are killed or injured in Chicago every year. Since 2016, Bird Friendly Chicago (BFC), an alliance of birding and conservation groups in Chicago, has been working to address this alarming issue.

In 2020, Chicago’s city council approved a directive to the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) to prioritize bird friendly building design as part of the city’s Sustainable Development Policy. BFC spent the next four years working closely with DPD to craft comprehensive bird-friendly design standards to be included in the revised Sustainable Development Policy.

As the spring of 2024 approaches, the DPD has yet to implement the prioritization of bird friendly design and is now contending that it cannot make bird safety mandatory in its building approval process and will simply include bird-friendly design measures as optional. Delays in implementing mandatory bird-friendly building design in Chicago have meant that scores of new buildings have been built without protections which ensures future death and injury to birds.

What Chicago Must Do
The DPD must implement mandatory bird friendly building standards in its updated Sustainable Development Policy, scheduled for release on April 15.

If we are to achieve this goal, we need members of the public to step up and make their voices heard. Your support is the key to stopping the avian mortality that’s become all too familiar in our city. To focus our collective efforts, BFC has two specific actions anyone can take.
Action 1: Let the DPD know this is important via their survey. Complete
this survey and rank #13 (Bird Protection) as "Very Important." Then, leave a comment in section 15. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MGYPS93

Action 2: Using the following template, email Mayor Brandon Johnson and copy Richard Guidice, his chief of staff; Ciere Boatright, head of the DPD; and Angela Tovar, head of the Department of the Environment. Please personalize your letter by including one or more
critical talking points about window collisions in Chicago, or by including your unique concerns about this issue. Remember to keep your letter respectful.

To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Subject: {insert your own subject line}
Dear Mayor Johnson,
The deaths of tens of thousands of native birds in our city are preventable.
Please make the bird-friendly provisions in the sustainability checklist
mandatory.
{Personalize your letter by emphasizing one or two critical talking points.}
Your name and address

City Hall has the power to make a difference. The mayor and his staff need to know that this is not only a huge issue, but one Chicagoans care about. We encourage you to email them, and ask your friends to do the same. Amplify the message via social media and tag .

As long as birds continue to die from window collisions in Chicago, we will not stop demanding better.

Looking to go further? Volunteer to lend your expertise to Bird Friendly Chicago! If you or someone you know is looking to get involved, our team is looking for volunteers.

Email [email protected] with your areas of interest and experience to get started.

The early birds aren't getting the worms - they are hitting windows. 😢

In the first week of monitoring this spring, Chicago Bird Collision Monitors have collected more than 60 window strike victims downtown – woodcocks, robins, song sparrows, flickers.

Birds who were perhaps the strongest fliers, ready to be the first on their breeding grounds, had their journeys ended at our glass buildings.
Lives interrupted that will never raise more young to ensure the survival of their species.

Increasing numbers of birds will die if Chicago does not prevent the construction of new, dangerous buildings by mandating bird-friendly building designs in their Sustainable Development Policy.

Tell the city this is an unacceptable tragedy:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Stop by and see CBCM at the Frankfort Earth Awareness Fair on Sunday. Learn more about what you can do to help us help birds.

Frankfort Public Library District, 21119 S Pfeiffer Rd, Frankfort, IL. 2:00-3:30 pm

Tell the Mayor protecting birds is not optional

An estimated tens of thousands of birds are killed or injured in Chicago every year. Since 2016, Bird Friendly Chicago (BFC), an alliance of birding and conservation groups in Chicago, has been working to address this alarming issue.

In 2020, Chicago’s city council approved a directive to the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) to prioritize bird friendly building design as part of the city’s Sustainable Development Policy. BFC spent the next four years working closely with DPD to craft comprehensive bird-friendly design standards to be included in the revised Sustainable Development Policy.

As the spring of 2024 approaches, the DPD has yet to implement the prioritization of bird friendly design and is now contending that it cannot make bird safety mandatory in its building approval process and will simply include bird-friendly design measures as optional. Delays in implementing mandatory bird-friendly building design in Chicago have meant that scores of new buildings have been built without protections which ensures future death and injury to birds.

What Chicago Must Do

The DPD must implement mandatory bird friendly building standards in its updated Sustainable Development Policy, scheduled for release on April 15.

If we are to achieve this goal, we need members of the public to step up and make their voices heard. Your support is the key to stopping the avian mortality that’s become all too familiar in our city. To focus our collective efforts, BFC has two specific actions anyone can take.

Action 1: Let the DPD know this is important via their survey. Complete
this survey and rank #13 (Bird Protection) as "Very Important." Then, leave a comment in section 15. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MGYPS93

Action 2: Using the following template, email Mayor Brandon Johnson and copy Richard Guidice, his chief of staff; Ciere Boatright, head of the DPD; and Angela Tovar, head of the Department of the Environment. Please personalize your letter by including one or more
critical talking points about window collisions in Chicago, or by including your unique concerns about this issue. Remember to keep your letter respectful.

To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Subject: {insert your own subject line}

Dear Mayor Johnson,

The deaths of tens of thousands of native birds in our city are preventable.
Please make the bird-friendly provisions in the sustainability checklist
mandatory.

{Personalize your letter by emphasizing one or two critical talking points.}

Your name and address

City Hall has the power to make a difference. The mayor and his staff need to know that this is not only a huge issue, but one Chicagoans care about. We encourage you to email them, and ask your friends to do the same. Amplify the message via social media and tag .

As long as birds continue to die from window collisions in Chicago, we will not stop demanding better.

Looking to go further? Volunteer to lend your expertise to Bird Friendly Chicago! If you or someone you know is looking to get involved, our team is looking for volunteers.

Email [email protected] with your areas of interest and experience to get started.

Sustainable Development Policy Public Feedback Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

March madness has begun!

Millions of birds are headed towards Chicago only to face the hazards of nighttime lighting and glass building designs.

Turn out, dim or block (with curtains or blinds) light that leaves your home or business windows from 11 pm until daylight.

Check our page during the peak migration period to see the toll window strikes take on the beautiful birds that fly through our city.

Ask the Department of Planning and Development to require bird-friendly design for all new buildings and renovations that they approve.

Complete the DPD survey (link below) and tell them birds matter. Please rank #13 "bird protection" as "Very Important" and comment in section 15 that the "Bird protections need to be mandatory."

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MGYPS93

Voting is open for the March Great Hearts grants.

Follow the link below to vote for CBCM and any other finalists that you feel are deserving of a grant.

Each vote you give turns into a $5 grant, up to $1,000 per organization. A total of $15,000 is available to be awarded. Voting is open now through March 21 or until all funds have been allocated.

The March Great Heart Award After reviewing the nominated causes, vote for the ones that you think should receive a grant from the Great Hearts Community giving circle. Each vote you give turns into a $5 grant, up to $1,000 per organization. A total of $15,000 is available to be awarded. Voting is open now through March 21 or....