McCormick Place Lakeside Center to shut off or dim lights to protect migrating birds

A dead bird is seen outside the McCormick Place Lakeside Center on Oct. 6. Nearly 1,000 birds hit the windows of the building on Oct. 5, according to The Field Museum, as they migrated for the season. (Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file)

The management for the McCormick Place Lakeside Center has agreed to shut off the lights or draw the drapes at night to help prevent migratory birds from colliding into the building’s glass windows.

The center will do so every night until the end of the fall migration on Nov. 15. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which operates the building, is also exploring longer-term protections to deter birds from approaching the Lakeside Center.