Bird collisions with windows are claiming the lives of over 1 billion birds annually in the U.S., with a significant portion occurring at homes due to light pollution. Artificial lighting draws birds off their migratory paths, leading to fatal collisions. Simple actions like turning off excess exterior lighting and using visual markers on windows can significantly reduce bird strikes. The National Audubon Society’s Lights Out Program encourages residents to take these steps during peak migration periods. Learn more about this pressing issue here and how you can help save our feathered friends here.
Birds and their environments share a delicate relationship, which is becoming increasingly convoluted in light of our more illuminated world. Artificial lighting, especially during periods of migration has had a profound effect on bird behavior which recent studies have begun to underscore. To me, this expanding body of research serves to underscore how much our avian neighbors are struggling — but it also points the way toward some data-rich, relatively low-hanging solutions that could also help shift the long-term trajectory for birds in a meaningful way.
Birds, especially migratory species, rely on celestial cues to navigate. Yet artificial lighting which is omnipresent in urban and suburban areas interferes with these natural navigational systems. Some city lights lead to the death of birds when they are migrating, after which they can be disoriented and collide fatally with windows and buildings. This behavior, also known as “fatal light attraction,” has caught the attention of conservationists and bird enthusiasts.
- The good news is that minor tweaks in our lighting practices can make a big difference in the safety of birds. Here are some key strategies:
- Diminishes Superfluous Outside Lighting: Merely shutting down superfluous outside illumination, particularly throughout top movement periods, can work chaos on decreasing fowl collisions.
- On Windows: Birds can see decals, patterns, or films adhered to windows and avoid collisions.
- Lights Out Program Guidelines: Many cities throughout the migration seasons have put in place lights-out programs as a way to encourage buildings to reduce or turn off lights at night
- Directional Lighting: Evidently, pointing landscape lights downward helps mitigate light pollution and also reduces the disorienting effect on birds.
- Window Treatments: bird-friendly screens or perforated vinyl film can be installed on the glass to minimize reflections that confuse birds.
- The FeatherFriendly Marker-Pattern Tape: This patterned tape makes a visual barrier that the birds can see and avoid.
These aren’t just theoretical tactics — they work in applications already. All cities and buildings that have adopted these measures are reporting enormous reductions in bird collisions, which shows us how a mere change can save our friends with wings.
But city planners and building managers are not the only ones at fault. Establishing bird-friendly Sound gardensIndividual homeowners and community members each has a role to play in creating conditions that welcome these birds. This is what you can do:
- Learn and share: Research species in your area and about the threats that they are facing. Spread this knowledge to friends, family, and neighbors.
- In your living space, install bird-friendly lighting and window treatments.
- Promote Bird-Safe Practices: That is, support local businesses and community buildings in incorporating bird-friendly lighting by establishing policies.
- Contribute to Conservation: Participate in local bird conservation and tracking systems as a citizen scientist.
- Build Bird-Safe Habitats: In addition to lighting, plant native vegetation that supports birds in your yard or public spaces.
- Get involved with Community Initiatives: Add using or creating bird-safe practices on the local level.
This serves to remind us of how human practices can result in unforeseen consequences for other species, and the profound effects that light pollution can have on birds. But it also shows that with a little thought and some simple practices, we can counteract these effects. Together we can save our wild spaces and help protect our feathered friends by implementing measures that reduce light pollution, and create bird-friendly environments.
It is of paramount importance that as we continue to grow and develop the world, some — if not all — of these concepts are directly incorporated into existing urban planning strategies, architectural designs, and individual lifestyle choices. While tackling light pollution and its effects on birds has implications for many organisms, we need to use this as a wake-up call that it is time to start thinking more about the human footprint that we leave in the world and how to work harder wiping out those footprints and make our planet as habitable as possible for all of wildlife.
In the end, providing nesting opportunities for burrowing owls has turned out to be a conservation action that does more than keep owls off the endangered species list. With simple shifts in our lighting behaviors, and by supporting bird-friendly actions, we can build a better future for birds—and, in turn, all of us.
