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Christine Williamson

Chicago, Illinois
Chair
Chicago Group

"One thing we can do is make glass in high-rises less reflective by etching it with patterns," she explains. "Another is to get the lights turned out. Songbirds travel at night and they’re attracted to light, especially on cloudy nights. Even if they don’t slam into the glass they'll flutter against it all night and fall to the ground dead or exhausted. The city has been very responsive, and for the last three years they've done a good job of turning lights out during spring and fall migrations."

Williamson applauds Mayor Richard Daley for converting an old airport terminal to a bird hospital, where a triage center has been set up. "Janitors are often the ones who find the injured birds," she says. "They put them in their shirt pockets and then gently pull them out for us. There's one janitor I know whose shirt pocket is always moving because there's a little bird inside."

Williamson, who met her husband at a bird club, says nearly every vacation or business trip they take involves birding. "We go to Duluth in January and Arizona in August," she laughs. "We were in Peru last summer, and the highlight was spotting a Peruvian flicker atop an ancient Incan storehouse at Machu Picchu. Our Indian guide almost danced for joy when we showed him a Peruvian white-throated hawk through our binoculars. He was so proud for his country."

Published: January 22, 2007