Passing the Torch

So - I retired from being President in May! I’m very happy to say that Sunshine De Vries is now the President of the Chicago Bird Alliance. And I’m very very happy and proud about all the accomplishments we made together in the years that I was president.

Here’s a list of some of the highlights - with outstanding leaders thanked:

Changed our name to a more inclusive one

Made an annual plan and review it every year at our board retreat

Created a DEI plan

Added a new program - field trip leader training - to strengthen our organization and further our DEI (Thanks Antonio, Matt and Sunshine)

Significantly added to our field trips (Thanks Lindsay)

Started the Birding Gear Exchange (Thanks Woody)

Started our Native Plant Sale - and grew it bigger every year! (Thanks Nancy Bradt, Colleen McVeigh, Alix Gnoske)

Hired an executive director and upgraded the office manager job

Started The Urban Birding Festival (Thanks Matt)

Coordinated the Spring Bird Count (Thanks Alan)

Published a bird checklist (Thanks Alan and crew) and an illustrated mini-guide (Thanks Matt)

Held an Awards Ceremony (Thanks Jackie, Jessica and Alan)

Greatly expanded our advocacy (Thanks Dana, Andy, and Annette):

Started a Rat Contraceptive Pilot to reduce Rodenticide and save raptors (Thanks to too many people to name here but check our blogs)

Kept fighting for a bird-friendly building ordinance. (Ditto - thank you all! and especially Annette)

Worked with MWRD to change mowing practices and save nestlings of Eastern Meadowlarks, Savanna Sparrows and Dickcissels (Thanks Jeff Bilsky)

Grew our blog and our social media presence tremendously (thanks Jessica, Joseph, Winnie and Matt)

Stayed within our budget

Got our office and business affairs organized (Thanks Taylor and Matt)

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We couldn’t have done all this without a hardworking board who set the vision of a more inclusive and consequential organization. You all are amazing! I’m honored to have served with you.

And our staff, both of whom are beyond awesome!

And of course our partners, the public land agencies - Chicago Park District, Cook County Forest Preserves and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District - and too may non-profits to name although Veronica Kyle at the EcoWomanist Institute deserves a shout-out.

We’re an organization with a very small staff who has accomplished a lot through people power!

Thank you members, for giving me the opportunity. It was wonderful.

Stay tuned for a hello from Sunshine. I’m very much looking forward to our future.

Judy Pollock

Third Time's the Charm?

On July 23, the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy, chaired by Maria Hadden and crew (click the link!), held a hearing on bird-friendly building design. Yay! There was a panel of distinguished speakers which included Jeanne Gang, Bryan Lenz, Annette Prince (our secretary) and others, and about 40 supporters of a mandatory ordinance in the audience. The following committee members were present: Maria Hadden (49), Julia Ramirez (12), Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25), Ruth Cruz (30), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33), William Conway(34), Bennet Lawson (44), Matthew Martin (47), Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48). Remote participation: Timothy Knudsen (43); Non-members present: Chris Taliaferro (29)

It was a very hopeful meeting. Thank you to everyone who sent or gave a comment - 82 comments were received. You were great!

“We should have a bird-friendly ordinance that goes further and we’re going to work toward that,” Ald. Maria Hadden said at the end of the hearing.

Many words have already been written about it, so we’ll just link them.

Patty Wetli did a comprehensive story for WTTW and gave a great summary on Chicago Tonight. Fox 32 News, Chicago Tribune, CBS News, also did great storiesClick

Click here for a recording of the hearing.

Fingers crossed, this time we’ll get a good ordinance.

CBA Leads Trial of Rat Contraceptive

Great news! We raised the full amount to pilot rat contraceptive for a year. Thank you, thank you!

Our trial will start in August. We have all the volunteers lined up and the training will be in early August..

The Chicago Bird Alliance is hosting a webinar on the Rat Contraceptive Pilot Program on Wednesday, July 30th at 6 pm Central. Project members will be on hand to answer questions, and to describe the dangers of rat poison and the alternative of contraceptives to control the rat population. Register for the webinar here.

Chicago Bird Alliance & Alderman Timmy Knudsen Announce Rat Contraceptive Pilot in Lincoln Park

Chicago, IL - Chicago Bird Alliance & 43rd Ward Alderman Timmy Knudsen are collaborating with several groups to pilot a year-long study of rat contraceptives, starting this summer. The non-toxic contraceptive is offered in food pellets called WISDOM Good Bites™, developed and produced by the non-profit WISDOM Good Works.

Through decades of use by the City of Chicago, it has been made clear that rat poison (rodenticide) does not substantially reduce rat populations. Moreover, it can be lethal to some birds and mammals, including pets. Our local wildlife — from owls and hawks, to squirrels, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and opossums — is in danger. Consuming rat poison directly or through poisoned prey causes a slow, painful death to any animal that accumulates enough of it.

Last spring, we saw the damage that rat poisons do. An entire Great Horned Owl family died in Lincoln Park just weeks after the owlet left the nest. All three causes of death were confirmed as rodenticide by Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn.

Matt Igleski, Executive Director of Chicago Bird Alliance, says, “Witnessing the devastating effects of rodenticide poisoning in real-time, with the family of Great Horned Owls in Lincoln Park, is a wake-up call. We believe that this pilot will not only prove to be more effective at controlling rats, but it will also save urban raptors from suffering needless deaths due to rodenticide poisoning.”

One of the most frequent constituent service requests received by the 43rd Ward is for rat abatement. Often in alleys, rats impact all Chicagoans' quality of life. Alderman Timmy Knudsen, says “Chicago’s current use of rat poison is not reducing the targeted population. When any strategy consistently does not work, it is essential that we as government officials innovate for a more effective approach. I am proud to partner with Chicago Bird Alliance to bring a ‘rat birth control’ pilot to Lincoln Park, and I am confident this pilot will achieve positive results. When it does so, I look forward to pitching this program to City Council to scale this approach city-wide so that the rat population is reduced in every Chicago neighborhood.”

There is a strong team of experts behind this initiative:

• Scientist and rat expert Dr. Maureen Murray of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute is conducting the study.

• Alderman Knudsen helped select a site in the 43rd Ward., and his team is notifying neighbors

• The Department of Streets and Sanitation Deputy Commissioner, Gloria Pittman, is working alongside our team to track the results of he pilot. If successful, we will continue our partnership with the Department of Streets and Sanitation's Bureau of Rodent Control to replicate this pilot in other wards.

• Wisdom Good Works is supplying the contraceptive pellets.

Deputy Commissioner Gloria Pittman expressed the department's interest in the contraceptive to enhance its current strategy, "The Department of Streets and Sanitation remains committed to utilizing proven, effective methods to manage the rodent population. Though rodenticide is the most well-known, our rodent management methods are diverse, including cart and refuse management, construction and demolition coordination, and community education and door-to-door engagement, which we have expanded to more areas in the city. We welcome any and all new approaches that demonstrate measurable success in enhancing our current efforts, and look forward to monitoring this pilot closely for future expansion."

The trial will take place near Lincoln Park, where the owls met their deaths, and is slated to begin in late July. The food pellets are dispensed in special rat-feeder boxes.

For more details, visit https://chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/save-the-owls.