McCormick Place's Lakeside Center, a convention center in Chicago, has long been a death trap for birds during migration season. But with bird-safe window film, the number of collisions has fallen significantly, Phys.org reported.
For over 40 years, thousands of birds collided with the center's windows each year, mistaking the glassy, reflective surfaces for open sky or safe habitats. But last fall, after the bird-safe window film was installed, only 18 deaths were recorded, a 90% drop from the previous year.
The dramatic decline shows the promise of preventive measures and is a sign that similar solutions could be applied across other at-risk buildings.
"To me, it was almost miraculous," Dave Willard, retired bird division collections manager at Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, who has monitored the site since 1982, told Phys.org.
The transformation came after Lakeside Center's operator worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Field Museum, and local bird monitors to install bird-safe film. Applied at a cost of $1.2 million, the film features small dots that make the glass visible to birds, preventing deadly crashes.
The film is now gaining traction. Feather Friendly, the company behind the bird-safe film, has landed contracts for at least nine more buildings in Chicago, with clients requesting the same solution used at the convention center.
The window barrier doesn't just reduce bird collisions. It also safeguards ecosystems. Birds ingest nearly 500 million tons of insects per year, controlling pests that threaten forests and agricultural products. They also pollinate around 5% of plants humans use for food and medicine. As more cities follow Chicago's lead, these conservation measures could pave the way for a cleaner, safer future for animals and urban life to coexist.
The window film joins an expanding list of design interventions engineered to make the built environment more bird-friendly. In Chicago, architect Jeanne Gang designed Aqua Tower, an 82-story building, with a wavy exterior so birds can see the building more clearly to avoid collisions.
Beyond design, companies are coming up with creative solutions to protect birds. England's Manthorpe, for instance, manufactured a hollow brick with a small entry hole that provides a nesting spot for swifts, an endangered bird species.
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All the time 💯 As spring approaches, Willard hopes that birds will continue to survive into the new season during their migration. With the film, he has "no reason to think" the worst.
"I turned into a believer," Willard said.
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