Lights Out for Fall Migration!

As summer turns to fall this week, here at CIG we're also marking the peak of fall migration for birds moving through our area, which is roughly early-September to mid-October. There are lots of ways we as individuals -and as a town- can support migrating birds, but there's one especially easy step we wanted to highlight: turning off lights at night! Sometimes doing less really does accomplish more.

Turning off lights is one important way to help. Light pollution is a serious problem for migrating birds, many of which travel at night using navigational cues including stars and moonlight. Bright artificial lighting from buildings and other infrastructure can disrupt them, drawing birds off course and sometimes disorienting them.

Confused birds may then collide with windows or fly until exhausted, becoming more vulnerable to predators.  A recent study estimated that millions of birds die in the US every year from collisions with buildings and windows - and light pollution is one of the causes of these preventable deaths.  Decades of research by the Field Museum in Chicago has shown that turning off lights in even one building resulted in significantly fewer bird collisions.

So what can we do? 

• Turn off nonessential lights, especially those near the tops of buildings.

• If lighting is essential for safety, put required lighting on timers or motion-activated sensors.

• Ensure all exterior lights are downward-facing and properly shielded. Learn more about bird-friendly outdoor lighting here.

It is particularly important to turn off lights and reduce artificial lighting between the hours of midnight and sunrise (when most night migrants are flying) and during spring and fall migration periods (April/May and September/October). In our area specifically, Lights Out Central New York recommends 11pm-6am.

Individuals and households can take these important steps - but so can building managers and leaders of businesses, schools, and other institutions in town. Lights Out is a network of bird-friendly cities and towns across the country, organized by the Audubon Society. CIG has been advocating that Irondequoit join this network and turn off/reduce lighting during migration in public buildings like the town hall complex, community center, and the library. Participating in the Lights Out program would make our community more bird-friendly while also supporting our Climate Smart Community and sustainability goals. In addition to helping birds, these efforts have the additional benefits of reducing energy usage and saving money.  

What are you doing to help birds during peak migration this fall?