Our major cities' skyscrapers might seem obvious to us, but to birds, they are confusing and dangerous obstacles that should be avoided at all costs.
But that isn't always possible. Disorienting lights or deceptive reflections in glass could send whole flocks of birds crashing into a building's glass exterior and falling to their death.
Painful, tragic glass collisions kill 600 million and 1 billion migratory birds each year in America.The majority of these bird collisions likely happen in Chicago which, according to a new study by the
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is the country's busiest avian airspace during migration, an already dangerous and exhausting time for birds.
One local group charged with cleaning up the aftermath of these collisions collects an astounding
6,000 dead birds in just the 1-square-mile downtown area... every year. The death toll through the rest of the city could measure into the tens of thousands.
One of the easiest and most responsible ways to ensure tragedies like these don't happen is to make the "lights out" policy mandatory during migration season. This method is proven to reduce collisions -- and it also saves energy!
It's time for cities like Chicago, that lie in the flight path of migratory birds, to take the well-being of our nation's migrating birds into consideration and take measures to ensure they reach their final destination.
Sign the petition and ask the city of Chicago to require buildings to turn off their lights during migratory bird season.