Migratory birds use starlight to find their way on their long journeys — which makes light pollution a serious threat. Drawn off course by bright, artificial lighting, birds can wind up fatally colliding with windows or wasting precious time and energy that they need to survive. “Lights Out” programs get cities and their residents to turn off nonessential lighting during migration seasons which can help make their journeys a little easier (and save energy!). BirdCast, a tool that can forecast the peak migration nights of the season, is helping these programs make a greater impact. Tenijah speaks with Julia Wang, project leader at BirdCast and the Lights Out Texas campaign at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

• Lights Out Program | BirdCast
• Lights Out | National Audubon Society
• Research: Study Names Top Cities Emitting Light that Endangers Migratory Birds
• FLAP Canada
• Lights Out for Birds | Houston Audubon

 

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. 

Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. 

BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.