Residents and businesses in the Chicago area are being asked to take steps to protect vulnerable birds as migration alerts are issued Tuesday.
Researchers at CornellLab, along with Colorado State University and UMass Amherst, say millions of birds are expected to fly over the state of Illinois on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
As a result, a migration alert was issued for both nights, with residents asked to turn off all non-essential lights.
“Bright lights attract and disorient nocturnally migrating birds, potentially causing fatal collisions with buildings,” officials say.
Residents are also asked to leave cats indoors, as cats tend to hunt at night and exhausted birds have a harder time evading predators.
American Redstarts, Swainson’s Thrush and Bay-breasted Warbler’s are among the birds expected to be traveling through the area on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
American Redstarts spend their winters in Central and South America, while Bay-breasted Warblers typically spend their winters in the northern forests of South America, according to experts.
Local
Birds are beginning to make their journeys southward to their winter homes, with more than 43 million birds in flight over the state of Illinois on Sunday night and into Monday morning alone. Nearly 380 million birds have already flown over the state since fall migrations began.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, there are four main “flyways” birds use to fly south for the winter, and Illinois is smack in the middle of the “Mississippi Flyway,” a popular pathway used because of ample access to lakes and rivers, as well as forecasts where birds can rest on their long journeys south.
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Chicago’s placement on that flyway can lead to catastrophic outcomes, as tall buildings with plenty of glass and interior and exterior lighting can disorient the birds, causing them to strike the buildings.
City officials have sought to mitigate some of those concerns, with officials at McCormick Place recently placing special films over windows to help protect birds after thousands of birds crashed into the building in recent years.
