Turning out nonessential lights from April 19 - May 7 is one of the most impactful local actions you can make to save the lives of birds on their journey. Just one building can cause major problems for birds in the area within one week in 2017, nearly 400 passerines (warblers, grosbeaks, etc.) were caught in the floodlights of a 32-story Texas skyscraper and killed via window collisions. Spring bird migration is in its peak over Texas, filling Houston with a plethora of colorful, melodious visitors. Scientists found that on nights when half the windows of. The exhaustion can then leave them vulnerable to other urban threats.ĭozens of species are affected, including priority species-those we have identified as most in need of and most likely to benefit from our help- such as the Allen’s Hummingbird, Wood Thrush, and Golden-winged Warbler. Turning off building lights at night can save migrating birds from crashing into buildings, a study based on decades of research has shown. 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. 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. 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. Every night during the spring and fall migration seasons, thousands of birds are killed when they crash into illuminated windows, disoriented by the light.

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