Tens Of Millions Of Migrating Birds Are Crossing Illinois Now

You'd think, with the stunning amount of migrating birds that are currently crossing Illinois' skies during the overnight hours, everyone who parks their car outside would be waking up to the nasty surprise of finding their vehicle completely covered in bird poop.

Yet somehow, even though over 300 million migrating birds have flown over Illinois' airspace since the spring migration began, I'm not seeing it. The only bird droppings I'm finding on my car are being dropped by local birds.

That doesn't mean it's not happening. According to reports, more than 11 million migrating birds have flown over Illinois since Saturday night, and there are a lot more coming through this week. You just know somebody's car is getting pooped on.

A Site Devoted To All Things Involving Bird Migration Has Issued An Alert For Illinois

That site would be BirdCast, an online spot created to "provide real-time predictions of bird migrations: when they migrate, where they migrate, and how far they will be flying."

The millions of migrating birds currently flying over Illinois are on their way to their spring/summer homes in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Canada, but their numbers are so large that BirdCast issued an alert for Illinois, warning us to turn off all "non-essential" lighting between the hours of 11pm and 6am tonight, Tuesday night, and Wednesday night.

Every year, thousands of birds are killed during their migration through Illinois from hitting illuminated windows on building and houses, along with dying from hitting power lines.

Monday Night And Tuesday Night Of This Week Are Going To Be Big Nights For Bird Migration Through Illinois

According to BirdCast, nearly 8 million migrating birds will be in flight over Illinois from 8pm tonight through 6am Tuesday. However, Tuesday night may have as many as 17 million birds in the air over the same time span.

NBCChicago.com is reporting that "Illinois residents are also asked to leave cats indoors, as the animals tend to be more active at night as they hunt for prey."