“While our cities’ bright lights present a risk to birds, it also means that our state has the opportunity to make a tremendous impact to save wildlife just by turning out lights.” “Our decisions about lighting matter to the millions of migratory birds who rest and nest in Connecticut each year,” said Craig Repasz, Co-chair of Lights Out Connecticut and long-time Hamden resident. The result is catastrophic: an estimated 355-988 million bird deaths in the United States each year. during periods of peak bird migration.īecause most migratory birds in North America travel at night, artificial light from buildings and other structures can attract and disorient them, leading them off course into fatal window collisions. Through Lights Out Connecticut, residents, businesses, schools, and building managers pledge to turn off non-essential exterior lighting each night from 11 p.m. Connecticut is now the fourth state in the nation, after Colorado, Georgia, and Texas, to have a dedicated statewide “Lights Out” program. (Milford, CT) April 20, 2022-Last night, the Connecticut Ornithological Association launched its new Lights Out Connecticut initiative to help save migratory birds in the state of Connecticut. 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.Businesses and Residents Encouraged to Turn Off Lights Each Evening 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. 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.

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