Rescuing birds from Chicago's urban jungle

The heap of mangled feathers is so tiny, most people would walk by without a backward glance.

Annette Prince hones in on it immediately.

"There's a bird," she says, darting across a downtown Chicago street.

The Chicago Bird Collision Monitors director is hopeful her find will be alive.

More Coverage Links Rescuing birds from Chicago's urban jungle [06/01/08] Naturalists, scientists trying to keep birds from crashing into skyscrapers [06/02/08]

But one look at the motionless ovenbird and, "he's probably dead," Prince explains.

It's about 6:30 a.m. in the Loop and gray shadows are giving way to dawn. Armed with binoculars, nets, paper bags, hand cleanser and ornithology books, Prince and longtime volunteer Joan Bruchman are on a mission to save as many migratory birds as they can.

The ovenbird crashed just below a mosaic of Daedalus and his son, Icarus, who died flying too close to the sun.

Weighing a few ounces, the warbler wintered in South America and was heading back to the north for the summer, over hundreds of miles.

"Isn't he beautiful," Bruchman muses, gazing at the olive feathers and white breast flecked with black.

"They avoid all sorts of hazards like weather, and predation and loss of habitat and starvation and exhaustion," Prince says. "Then they come to Chicago and they hit a window."

Every day during spring and fall migration, the bird collision monitors scour the Loop.

The group started in 2003, when founder Robbie Hunsinger decided to do something about the tiny casualties of high-rise glass.

As a result of their efforts, many Chicago sky-rise owners now dim lights on buildings during migration season, reducing the amount of casualties.

But it's not only light that attracts birds, it's also windows. Those unaccustomed to an urban environment, mistake the glass for air.

"When they see sky and windows, they don't think they can't fly through it," Prince said. "They see the sky, they see the window, they think, 'Why can't I fly through it?' "

The danger is not only from the impact and the fall to the pavement.

"Gulls and crows come up and look for injured birds, they'll eat them live or dead," Prince explained.

Birds found alive are taken to Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn for evaluation and treatment. Fatalities are sent to the Field Museum in Chicago for ornithologists to study.

On this particular Sunday, there's not that many fallen birds. But on the previous Saturday, volunteers found 25 dead and 25 alive.

"A bad day is 100 birds," said Prince, who left her Lombard home at 5 a.m.

Across North America, researchers estimate about one billion window-bird deaths occur a year. In spring 2007, the bird monitors found nearly 1,500 dead or hurt birds representing more than 100 species but hundreds go undiscovered, Prince noted.

Bird lovers are pressing for changes in the way glass is designed, seeking less transparent and less reflective versions. Advocates also encourage building owners to turn down lobby lights, which are bird magnets, especially if there are trees or plants inside.

"In nature, the weaker birds end up not surviving," Prince said. That's natural selection.

"The birds that hit glass can be the strongest, the best fliers, the best breeders. They're the birds that survive -- so it's even more tragic. Birds are a declining species and they can't afford to sustain more losses."

On the hunt

In the early morning, it's hard to distinguish injured birds that are "curled up, trying to shake it off" from garbage.

"We chase a lot of candy wrappers," Prince said.

Starting from Federal Plaza at Jackson and Dearborn, Prince and Bruchman patrol a 1-mile area.

Bruchman, an Arlington Heights retiree, chases a white-throated sparrow that's running erratically along the ground.

"He may be fine, but I like to make sure," she says, whipping out her binoculars for a closer look.

The sparrow refuses to cooperate even after she follows him down a dark alley.

"Usually they're not this hard to catch," Bruchman says, half-annoyed, half-amused.

The two women reconvene at Madison and Clark, comparing notes before another street sweep.

Prince reconnoiters, then, "See the little bird facing the stone there?" she asks.

Both hurry to the feet of a skyscraper where a brown and white bird is crumpled, making no move to escape the approaching humans.

"You can tell he's just stunned," Bruchman says.

Prince scoops up the bird in a soft net, then cradles it in her fingers for a closer look.

"See, his left eye is closed, which indicates head trauma," she explains. "The most important thing is to get it out of harm's way. Here, he could get stepped on."

The bird turns out to be a Swainson's thrush, en route from Central America. Prince pops it into a paper bag lined with a paper towel and clips it snugly.

"Even a bird that's injured will try to get away," Prince explains. "Yesterday, we picked up a bird that looked like death in feathers, by the time he'd spent a few hours in the bag, he was jumping around.

"Eighty percent of the birds we take to Willowbrook get released. It's like they get a second chance," she said.

A lucky find

It's about 8:30 a.m. and Bruchman's car is getting crowded with sacks of birds, both dead and alive, that other monitors have picked up.

The organization numbers about 90 members but on weekends when the bird count is more than 100, "we can always use more," Prince said.

Spring migration lasts from mid-March to mid-June while the fall season runs from mid-August to mid-November. The bird monitors provide training for new recruits.

As their efforts caught on, Prince is often contacted by commuters ranging from stock traders to firefighters who've spotted injured birds.

"We feel the public are our eyes and ears," she said.

"Some of the commuters carry bags with them, if they find a bird they'll pick it up. People are so relieved to have a resource."

Bird collision monitors come from city and suburbs, include young and old, bird fanatics and causal volunteers.

"Parents bring children along, it's empowering, the next generation may be the ones that find a solution," Prince said.

"A lot of people really are just passionate about not wanting any creature to be injured."

That would include Chicagoan Rhonda Smith.

"His beak was going in two different directions," she tells Prince and Bruchman who've made a house call at her Near North Side condo.

On her way home from dinner the other night, Smith encountered an unusual sight.

A bird "was standing in the middle of the doorway and let us get near him," she said. "You could just tell something was wrong."

While Smith's companion watched over the bird, she did a quick Internet search, found www.birdmonitors.net and called Prince for help.

After keeping the bird in a box overnight, as advised, Smith gingerly handed it over to the professionals.

"I've never captured a bird before," she said. "We hope he's still alive."

The captive turned out to be a Virginia rail, a marsh bird migrating to the north likely from Texas.

"He just needs a chance to recover and get out of harm's way," Prince tells a relieved Smith.

By 9 a.m., Chicago is roaring into life with tourists and shoppers starting to enliven the streets. Smith and Bruchman head home with their cargo -- some of it rattling noisily.

"We want to do what we do so well, we don't have to do it anymore," Prince said. "We can do something else at 5 o'clock in the morning."

You can help

bull; The Chicago Bird Collision Monitors are looking for helpers. To volunteer or if you find an injured bird, call (773)988-1867.

bull; Other useful numbers if you have questions about injured wildlife are the Willowbrook Wildlife Center at (630)942-6200 or Fox Valley Wildlife Center (630)365-3800.

bull; Informative Web sites include the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors at www.birdmonitors.net and the Fatal Light Awareness Program site at www.flap.org. Both include tips on how to make your home more bird-friendly.

bull; To donate to the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, checks can be sent payable to the Chicago Audubon Society, 5801-C N. Pulaski Road, Chicago IL 60646-6057, with a notation the money is for CBCM. The organization also accepts supplies such as paper bags, labels and binder clips. For information, call (773)539-6793.