Green Tip of the Month

August Green Tip of the Month

Lights Out For Birds!

“Every year, billions of birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall, the majority of them flying at night, navigating with the night sky. However, as they pass over big cities on their way, they can become disoriented by bright artificial lights and skyglow, often causing them to collide with buildings or windows. 

While lights can throw birds off their migration paths, bird fatalities are more directly caused by the amount of energy the birds waste flying around and calling out in confusion. The exhaustion can then leave them vulnerable to other urban threats.”

-Audubon Lights Out Program

This month, we encourage a focus on minimizing artificial evening light to protect migrating birds. Fall migration typically commences around August 1st. According to Hannah Partridge, Community Action Manager at the National Audubon Society, window collisions result in the deaths of more than one billion birds annually in the United States, with artificial nighttime lighting identified as a primary cause. Hannah notes that most collisions occur in low-rise and residential areas, and that any artificial lighting may present risks for migrating birds. 

Migratory birds rely on the moon and stars for navigation over hundreds or thousands of miles each year. Artificial lights can disrupt their routes, sometimes causing disorientation, exhaustion, or fatal collisions. To help reduce the impact of artificial lighting on bird migration, consider the following recommendations.

Actions for Everyone

  • Participate in "Lights Out” initiatives (in partnership with the Audubon Society)       

  • Turn off or dim exterior lighting

  • Ensure outdoor lights are aimed down and are well-shielded. This helps eliminate upward-directed light, to help birds flying overhead not become disoriented.

  • Install motion sensors to minimize unnecessary lights

  • Use task lighting at night, such as a desk lamp, in place of overhead lighting

  • Draw blinds or close curtains at night

  • Turn off interior lights, particularly on upper floors, when not being used

  • Chose bulbs in the warmer, yellow spectrum rather than cooler, blue bulbs

  • When upgrading lighting, assess both quality and quantity requirements to avoid unnecessary brightness with newer technologies 

  • Contact your local city or parks department to discuss reducing non-essential artificial lighting during spring and fall migration periods 

  • Share this article with others! More awareness often creates more action

Additional Actions for Businesses

  • Turn off lights at night on unoccupied floors and in unused spaces

  • Extinguish pot lights and floodlights 

  • Minimize atrium lighting where feasible 

  • Turn off or dim rooftop lighting and exterior architectural lighting

  • Schedule maintenance during daylight hours when possible

  • Ask custodial staff to turn off lights when they are finished with their work

These steps can significantly mitigate the adverse effects of artificial light on migratory birds. 

Have a fantastic August!

Jeannine Sielinski