Our Mission: Protecting migratory birds through rescue, education and outreach. Advocating bird-safe lighting and building design to reduce bird collision hazards.
Founder: Robbie Hunsinger
Director: Annette Prince
CBCM monitoring teams operate every morning in downtown Chicago seven days a week during migration periods — from mid-March to early June and late August to mid-November — checking for injured or dead birds among the tall buildings.
We also respond to hotline calls throughout the year to rescue injured birds in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
Chicago Bird Collision Monitors takes more than 3,000 injured birds to wildlife rehabilitation centers each year. These birds contribute to scientific knowledge in a number of ways.
Data collected from live birds taken to Willowbrook Wildlife Center advance the knowledge and understanding of wildlife treatment, diseases, distributions and genetics.
Birds that have been rehabilitated at Willowbrook Wildlife Center are banded before being released. These birds provide information about the natural history and migratory patterns of their species.
Birds that have sustained injuries that prevent their return to the wild often are placed with nature centers where they serve as education animals or become part of permanent animal exhibits. As ambassadors of their species they raise awareness, increase understanding, and inspire appreciation of the natural world.
Even those birds that don't make it have a role to play. They are taken to the Field Museum in Chicago, where they may be used for research, education, or exhibits. Click here to read more about it.