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Lights Out for Bird Migration
Keeping the lights off during migration can save birds!
© Bryce David
Many birds migrate at night, taking advantage of less turbulent conditions and cooler temperatures. But that also means that migrating birds can get disoriented by bright lights and collide with a building. Julia Wang is the project leader for BirdCast, which provides forecasts for bird migration so that people know when they should keep their lights off. Turning off the lights during peak migration times can save birds and save energy at the same time.
BirdNote®
Lights Out for Bird Migration
Adapted from the Bring Birds Back podcast
This is BirdNote.
[nocturnal flight calls]
Many birds migrate at night. It might sound strange to travel in the dark, but the birds have their reasons.
Julia Wang: At night the air is less turbulent, so it's a bit easier to fly.
That’s Julia Wang from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Julia Wang: And especially for woodland species that might not be as agile, it's easier to fly at night. It's also typically cooler at night, so it's easier to off-put the heat that's generated when you're flying really, really far distances.
But migrating at night also means that birds can get disoriented by bright lights and collide with a building.
Julia Wang: All of this light pollution coming from major centers of buildings, homes, residences, pulls birds, generally, into an area where they're more likely to deal with collisions and other urban threats.
Julia is the project leader for BirdCast, which provides forecasts for bird migration so that people know when they should keep their lights off.
Julia Wang: All we're asking is that you flip the switch and turn off some lights during migration season, and it becomes a win-win situation for both parties. You're helping to save birds. And you're also, as a building owner or manager, or as someone in their own home, you're saving energy by turning off lights.
Know that each light counts and each home matters.
[nocturnal flight calls]
Learn more about lights out programs for bird migration on the Bring Birds Back podcast. Listen in your podcast app or at BirdNote dot org. I’m Tenijah Hamilton.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Swainson's Thrushes Calling Slightly Before Sunrise, used courtesy of BIRD CALLS and SONGS.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote August 2022
Narrator: Tenijah Hamilton
ID# PodBBB-13-2022-08-22 PodBBB-13
