Tonight and tomorrow are the busiest nights of the year for bird migration over North Carolina. Each year, hundreds of millions of birds die by flying into buildings (even average height buildings) because they are confused by their lights at night.
The Audubon Society’s Lights Out program is a national effort to reduce bird-building collisions. The program encourages building owners and managers to turn off, shield, or dim unnecessary lighting during spring and fall migration. The goal is to provide safe passage for migrating birds as they fly between their nesting and wintering grounds.
Light pollution can disorient birds and cause them to crash into buildings. Many birds are killed or injured in collisions with buildings or drop from exhaustion after circling them.
The Audubon Society encourages people to turn off excess lighting, especially outdoors, during migration. If you can’t turn off your indoor lights, closing blinds or curtains will also help.