Fly into any major city at night and the first thing you see upon descent are lights from skyscrapers illuminating the sky. Some of us would call them impressive or even beautiful, but the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy calls it light pollution and deadly. Here’s why.
Songbirds typically migrate at night so they can take advantage of cooler temperatures and calmer air, as well as avoid being eaten by hawks and other birds of prey. These nocturnal migrants use a variety of navigational aids, including magnetic fields and the stars, to keep them on course. Brightly lit buildings confuse them.
(Dennis Olle for Tropical Audubon Society)
This black-and white warbler collided with a building in downtown Miami July 29, 2021.
“Thousands of migrating birds (would) be seen swarming around the World Trade Center, for example. Not until the sun comes up do they stop. Now they are tired and looking for a place to rest so they see the reflection of trees in the windows and crash into them … If the buildings are dark, they fly right past them,” said Brian Rapoza of Miami’s Tropical Audubon Society.
Collisions with glass windows, walls and other structures kill up to a billion birds a year in the U.S. alone, making it one of the greatest human-caused threats to birds, according to the American Bird Conservancy.
Millions of migrating birds that make their way to South Florida in spring and fall face this threat as our high-rises get taller and brighter, which is why the Tropical Audubon Society has joined Audubon’s national Lights Out program. The initiative is in 46 U.S. cities with five others operating statewide or regional programs. Jacksonville is the only other participating Florida city besides Miami.
(Courtesy of Sandy Moise)
Brian Rapoza leads a morning bird walk for the Native Plant Society at the Enchanted Forest Elaine Gordon Park, where 20 different species of birds were spotted.
The first Lights Out program began in 1999 in Chicago, which was modeled after Toronto’s Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP).
Because so many major cities are ahead of us in this effort, Rapoza says early morning walkers are needed to volunteer to document what’s going on. Data collection began in the fall of 2021, but little progress has been made without a dedicated group of volunteers.
“We need people to take walks early in the morning around buildings and look for dead birds … Not asking them to collect the dead bird, just take a photo of the dead bird to upload their sighting … Early morning dog walkers are great candidates for volunteers,” he said.
(Courtesy of Sandy Moise)
Songbirds like these painted buntings in a Morningside backyard typically migrate at night.
Evidence of dead bird sightings are collected online through a database at DBird.org developed by NYC Audubon and later expanded by Seattle Audubon’s Bird-Safe Cities program.
“We’re probably going to have to prove a mass casualty event. That’s what’s happened in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia,” said Rapoza. “We’re early in the game. It’s going to be a long-term process … I’ve been talking about this problem for 10 years.”
The long-term goal is to amass enough data to press for a local ordinance, as other cities already have.
“There are some states that have enacted changes to their building codes to either encourage or mandate that new buildings incorporate changes that are considered bird-safe … this could be changes to lighting and windows – reflective windows are a big problem,” Rapoza said.
(All About Birds)
Orioles are among the nocturnal migratory songbirds that typically crash into glass.
The American Bird Conservancy is the real leader in this arena, with extensive information on its website about preventing bird window strikes, bird-friendly architectural design, products and solutions, research and testing, and legislation, ordinances and code.
Right now, they’re advocating for Congress to pass The Bird-Safe Buildings Act to reduce bird deaths by directing General Services Administration officials to incorporate bird-friendly design and materials into the construction of new federal buildings.
(National Audubon Society)
A close-up of a painted bunting.
While data collection efforts in Miami ramp up with the goal of passing ordinances in cities and the county, there things the average person who lives in a tall building can do:
- Turn off unnecessary lighting after 11 p.m., especially on upper floors.
- Put lights on timers.
- Utilize motion sensors on lights.
- Make sure external lighting is down shielded.
- Close shades or blinds.
- Dim or turn off lobby or atrium lighting.
This is especially important during spring migration (March 15 to May 15) and fall migration (Aug. 15 to Nov. 15).
To volunteer as a data collector or in some other capacity for the Lights Out Miami campaign, visit TropicalAudubon.org.
Emily Cardenas is the executive editor of Biscayne Times and The Miami Times newspaper. She previously worked as a producer at WTXF in Philadelphia and at WSCV, WFOR and WPLG in Miami.