![]() ![]() And many species use natural light from the stars and moon to help navigate - so bright electric lights disorient birds and draw them off course towards more developed areas. A lot of those collisions happen at night, when most birds are migrating. As many as one billion birds die from window collisions in the US each year. Tenijah Hamilton: But in our night skies, there is one deadly danger along every bird’s journey: light pollution. Tenijah Hamilton: We can't really see them, but it's really nice to know that there are kind of these swaths of birds up there making their epic journeys. Tenijah Hamilton: And like, what do you see when you look up into the sky? ![]() According to BirdCast there are almost 15 million birds passing over Georgia tonight. And I'm out here with my husband, which is nice. And, um, it's actually a really lovely night. Learn more about existing Lights Out programs.Tenijah Hamilton: It is 10:14 PM on April 25th here in Atlanta. In addition it will save money and electricity while reducing carbon emissions. This action has the potential to dramatically reduce the number of bird fatalities caused by city lights. Toronto, Chicago, New York, Minneapolis-St, Paul and Detroit have some of the most successful programs. The same night after 11 pm Photo: Eric Fogelman They are then more vulnerable to collisions with windows and other structres, and are easy prey for predators such as the gulls who have learned to patrol urban streets in the early morning hours. Birds circle builings and become exhausted. ![]() Lighted skyscrapers may simply confuse them. Scientists aren’t sure why this happens but it may be related to the fact that among many navigational cues, birds use the stars to stay on course. Landbirds such as warblers, thrushes, and kinglets migrate at night and can be drawn off course by tall lighted structures in their flight path. In many cities around the United States, building owners have voluntarily agreed to extinguish their exterior decorative lighting and to dim atrium and lobby lights at key times during the migration season. Chicago before 11 pm, showing lit exterior and decorative lighting Photo: Eric Fogelman ![]()
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