The National Audubon Society estimates that up to 1 billion birds are killed every year from building collisions alone. Janek Schaller: It’s also common for birds to fly into windows. Then they’ll fall to the ground, where they usually die without food or water. That confusion can be dangerous for them.Įmily Tom: A lot of birds will circle well-lit buildings until they’re too exhausted to fly anymore. Janek Schaller: Migrating birds are drawn to bright city lights and residential areas. Charles Clarkson: And particularly on nights in which we have poor weather forcing the migrants to fly even lower altitudes, they tend to get driven or pulled off course by bright spots on the landscape below them. The atmosphere is more stable, there are fewer predators, and some birds actually use the stars to navigate.ĭr. Clarkson, it’s actually one of the biggest stressors on bird populations.Įmily Tom: First we have to understand that eighty percent of migratory birds travel at night. Megan Hall: Don’t get me wrong, I love birds, but are lights really that big of a deal? Clarkson: I am the Director of Avian Research for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.Įmily Tom: He says it’s super important to protect birds as they migrate with the changing seasons. Clarkson: So this grassroots program is designed to get these building owners or entire city governments to agree to limit or reduce the amount of light that’s emanating from these urban city centers during these peak periods of bird movement.ĭr. Its goal is to reduce light pollution and protect migrating birds.Įmily Tom: A bunch of cities and states across the country are participating in it, including Boston and New York.ĭr. Janek Schaller: The National Audubon Society started Lights Out about twenty years ago. Now, will you tell me - what exactly is Lights Out?
Megan Hall: Before we get started, we should note that our founder, Stephen Porder, is on the board of the Audubon society here in Rhode Island. We had Emily Tom and Janek Schaller look into it. What is Rhode Island doing?”Įxcellent question. “Efforts to turn off lights for migrating birds are taking off across the US. Today’s question comes from one of our listeners. Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers.
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