This browser does not support the Video element.
McCormick Place installs bird-safe film after nearly 1000 birds died last year
The building has been a magnet for migrating birds for decades.
CHICAGO - Since bird-safe film was added to the massive windows at McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center in summer 2024, bird collisions have dropped by over 95%.
That’s according to data collected during the fall migration season.
After an especially deadly bird strike in 2023, officials at Chicago's biggest convention complex covered thousands of square feet of windows with film designed to keep birds away.
Hundreds of migratory birds killed in collision with Chicago's McCormick Place
Hundreds of migratory birds are dead after colliding with McCormick Place in downtown Chicago early Thursday morning.
What makes the oldest and easternmost building of the McCormick Place Convention Center Complex so beautiful is also what makes it so deadly for birds.
"We've been working on it for decades. We're the most studied building in the world on bird strikes," said Cynthia McCafferty, a McCormick Place spokesperson, at the time of the film's installation.
Lakeside Center is wrapped in glass and overlooks Lake Michigan. When migrating birds travel along the lakefront in the spring and fall, they have been striking the building since it was built in the 1960s.
But after nearly 1,000 birds died in a single night in October 2023, work crews installed a special protective window film with tiny white dots two inches apart.
Because of the building's massive size and all that glass, the $1.2 million project was the biggest bird strike mitigation effort in the world.
On Wednesday, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Director Martha Williams stopped by Lakeside Center to check out the success of its bird-safe window film.
McCormick Place makes changes after 1,000 birds die from crashing into building
McCormick Place is making some changes after 1,000 birds died from crashing into the building last month.
"McCormick Place Lakeside Center deserves hearty appreciation and recognition for the steps they have taken to drastically reduce bird collisions at their facility," said Williams.
Larita Clark, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) and owner of McCormick Place, expressed her excitement about the positive impact of the bird-safe window film.
She also emphasized MPEA’s commitment to "being a good neighbor and environmental steward."
The $1.2 million project was approved in spring 2024 to better protect local and migratory birds around Lakeside Center. Before moving forward, MPEA leadership said they worked closely with wildlife experts and advocates, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Field Museum, Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, and Never Collide.
McCormick Place installs bird-safe windows after nearly 1,000 died in single night last year
One of Chicago's landmark buildings is sporting a new look just in time for bird migration season.
"The data from the Field Museum after this fall’s bird migration illustrate that any building or home can be made safer for birds," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region Assistant Regional Director for Migratory Birds Brian W. Smith.
"Field Museum researchers are very pleased to see the new bird-safe window film have such a measurably positive effect on bird collisions at Lakeside Center," said Dr. Julian Siggers, Field Museum President & CEO.
The window film isn’t the only step McCormick Place has taken to protect birds.
Back in October 2023, the convention center also rolled out several bird-safe policies, like closing drapes and blinds overnight when possible and turning off nonessential exterior lights.