Sandhill cranes. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region)

Red-winged blackbirds, American robins, and sandhill cranes are among the species of birds Chicagoans have spotted in recent days on the leading edge of spring migration. But wait — according to the calendar, it’s still winter.

McCormick Place Lakeside Center's walls of glass and location on the lakefront are a deadly combination for birds. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Monday’s meeting of the McPier board was dominated by discussion of the mass death of 1,000 birds in a single day, killed after colliding with McCormick Place. Bird conservationists want a solution in place by spring migration.

A team at the Field Museum processes birds killed in collisions with McCormick Place during a massive migratory wave Oct. 4-5, 2023. (Daryl Coldren / Field Museum)

While the full tally of dead will never be known, wildlife advocates are certain of one thing: The vast majority of bird losses in the past week were preventable.

Field Museum staff collected 1,000 dead birds Thursday from the grounds of McCormick Place. (Courtesy of Taylor Hains)

Chicago is one of the deadliest cities for migrating birds and Thursday’s “insane abundance of migratory action” led to “insane mortality,” birders said. The remedy is as simple as flipping off a light switch.

A memorial for Monty and Rose was held May 25, 2022, at Montrose Beach. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

On Wednesday evening, a memorial was held for the beloved piping plovers Monty and Rose, not so much to mourn the loss of the birds but to celebrate the wonder of their time in Chicago.

Some assembly required. Chicago's first Motus tower, during installation at Big Marsh Park. (Edward Warden / Chicago Ornithological Society)

The radio antenna, positioned at Big Marsh Park on the Southeast Side, helps fill a Chicago-sized gap in a growing network of receivers that's tracking the movement of migratory birds and other animals.   

The wrong-way small-billed elaenia, photographed Nov. 28, 2021, in Waukegan. (Courtesy of Geoffrey Williamson)

The sighting of a small-billed elaenia over the Thanksgiving holiday had bird lovers flocking to Waukegan from far and wide to catch a glimpse of this South American flycatcher, thousands of miles off course.

(Courtesy Judy Cheske / Ann Gunkel)

The big reveal will take place at a beachside ceremony with representatives from the Chicago Piping Plovers Team and members of its name-selection committee. Find out how you can tune in virtually.

Vivid blue-green plumage and an unmistakable bright red bill are hallmarks of the male broad-billed hummingbird. (Courtesy of Nathan Goldberg)

Chicago birdwatchers were treated to a rare glimpse of a wayward hummingbird at LaBagh Wood, far beyond its normal range of the U.S.-Mexico border.