Chicago is on High Alert for Bird Migration Thursday and Friday Nights. Here’s How to Keep Passing Birds Safe

Science & Nature

Chicago is on High Alert for Bird Migration Thursday and Friday Nights. Here’s How to Keep Passing Birds Safe

Patty Wetli | September 5, 2024 5:25 pm

(0802290022 / iStock)

Hundreds of millions of birds will be on the move across the country in the coming days as fall migration heats up. Large numbers are expected to pass over the Chicago region, with a “high alert“ issued for Thursday and Friday nights.

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The intensity of birds will be in the range of 30,000 birds in a one-kilometer stretch, perpendicular to the direction of travel.

These birds are traveling thousands of miles from their summer breeding grounds to their southern wintering grounds. To protect them on their journeys, turn off all non-essential lighting between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Bright lights attract and disorient birds, leading to fatal collisions, and also cause the birds to waste precious energy as they’re drawn off course.

Chicago sits along a major migratory flyway and has been labeled one of the most dangerous cities for birds, both because of its bright lights and its glass buildings.

Numerous Chicago buildings participate in a voluntary “lights out” program during spring and fall migration seasons.

If you come across an injured bird, call Chicago Bird Collision Monitors at 773-988-1867, or contact a wildlife center.

Here are the migration forecasts for Thursday and Friday:

Van Doren, B. M and Horton, K. G., 2024. BirdCast, migration forecast map; generated Sept. 5, 2024, 7 a.m. Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University. birdcast.info. Accessed Sept. 5, 2024.