By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter
Over the next few weeks, millions of birds will migrate through Texas on the way to their summer homes, but unfortunately, many of them will not survive the trip.
That’s why this time of year, organizations like Texan by Nature, are asking home and business owners to turn off, or dim, non-essential outdoor lighting through the Lights Out Texas campaign.
“Lights Out Texas is a campaign of education, awareness and action that focuses on turning lights out at night during the spring and fall to help protect the billions of birds that migrate through Texas annually,” Taylor Keys, Texan by Nature program director, said. “Most people don’t know, but the majority of migrating birds migrate at night. That’s why it’s important to turn lights out.”
In the spring, birds migrate March 1-June 15.
Critical peak migration is April 22-May 12.
One out of every three birds migrating through the U.S. in the spring comes through Texas.
In the fall, it’s one out of every four birds.
“During the spring and fall, we’re asking all businesses to turn off their non-essential lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night during migration season,” Keys said in an interview with the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “We really want that practice to become just a standard where people just turn out their lights all year long.”
Fall migration is Aug. 15-Nov. 30.
Critical fall migration is Sept. 6-Oct. 11.
“We’re also asking folks to reduce and not use landscape lighting, if possible, just so they’re not lighting up areas where birds could be resting,” Keys said. “For essential lights for security and safety reasons, we’re asking folks to use dark-sky friendly lighting practices.”
That includes aiming outdoor lights down, using motion sensors and using shields on lights.
“For businesses that have tall buildings, same practices apply. Turn lights off from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Also, see if there is any decorative lighting that can be turned off for lobby or atrium lighting. Work with custodial crews to make sure lights go off at night,” Keys said.
She encourages businesses that have the ability to set their lights to a schedule to do so to save energy and save birds’ lives.
Outdoor lights at night attract birds, which can lead to their deaths.
“When birds are migrating, they rely on stars, moonlight and things like that,” Keys said. “Bright lights from urban centers and light pollution from populations in general can distract birds from their migratory route.”
When birds are distracted, they can become disoriented.
“Often times in our large urban centers, there are a lot of tall buildings that have highly reflective glass. That’s one of the main causes of bird strikes as well,” Keys said. “Let’s say there’s a tree in the median, and it’s reflected on the glass in the building. The bird may think they can seek refuge there, but they end up colliding into the glass.”
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, hundreds of birds can die in a single night during the migration period.
Houston and Dallas are two of the deadliest cities in the nation for migrating birds, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Research from Chicago, the deadliest city for migrating birds, reveals darkening building windows produced 11 times fewer bird collisions during spring migration and six times fewer collisions during the fall migration.
“Every Texan can play a role in turning out their lights at night, and there’s also other things that folks can do, as well,” Keys said. “There are some practices for having bird-friendly glass, and the American Bird Conservancy has some great resources on that. Also, we’re asking folks to just share the message that this initiative is taking place with their neighbors and network so that we can just get all Texans on board.”
Lights Out Texas is a collaborative effort led by Texan by Nature and Audubon Texas with support from Texas A&M University, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.