Fatal Collisions at Chicago's McCormick Place May Make Bird-Saving Measures Fly

This piece was first published on October 12 on ENR.com.

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority plans to renovate Lakeside Center at McCormick Place in Chicago, offering potential to better protect birds at the four-level pavilion overlooking Lake Michigan, where nearly 1,000 migrating birds died after collisions in early October. Bird conservationists are hoping the mass fatalities will prompt action in Chicago and elsewhere to discourage birds from crashing into windows.

Better protecting migratory birds is "one factor in planning,” for the renovation of the C.F. Murphy-designed building, which opened in 1971, says Cynthia McCafferty, a spokesperson for MPEA.

The authority issued a request for information for the renovation late last year, but McCafferty would not comment on how much interest was received. She also says there is no timeline for sending out the project's request for proposals.

MPEA is already trying to better protect migrating birds including participating in Lights Out Chicago, a program that encourages owners and operators of large buildings to switch off or dim their lights from 11 p.m. until dawn. McCafferty says being part of Lights Out has reduced bird collisions on the McCormick Place campus by 80%.

Read more from Annemarie Mannion at RECORD's sister site, ENR.com.