It's Toribird here, bringing great news for Philadelphia's birds and bird lovers! Philly has finally joined over 30 other cities in a Lights Out program to give migrant birds safer passage. Many major Center City skyscrapers have voluntarily agreed to turn off all outside lights. This will be done from midnight to 6am during peak migration season, April 1 - May 31st and August 15 - November 15.
Though it may seem surprising, many birds, including most songbirds, travel at night, as this has the benefit of helping them avoid predators and stay cool. These nocturnal migrants likely use cues from stars to help them navigate, so city lights disorient and distract them, often resulting in fatal collisions with windows. Lights Out will save thousands of bird lives each year, help save money, and reduce the city's carbon footprint - all in one neat package!
This male House Finch was a window strike victim. Found this past Saturday, March 13th.
This accomplishment was made possible by Bird Safe Philly, a recently-formed partnership that works to mitigate bird-window collisions in the city. The catalyst for this partnership was a tragic event last October when over 1,000 migrating birds collided with Philadelphia buildings and perished in a single night. Situated along the East Coast Flyway, Philadelphia is an important stop for migrants coming from all across the Americas. Birds like the Blackpoll Warbler and Gray-cheeked Thrush flying from the boreal forest in Canada and Alaska to South American tropics stopover here, often feeding and resting right in our backyards.
You can help gather data to further focus actions to prevent window strikes! If you happen to find a dead bird in the Philadelphia area, particularly if it appears the bird hit a window, I urge you to snap a few pictures and submit your observation to the Bird Safe Philly Bird Strikes Project through iNaturalist. This iNaturalist project allows local scientists and bird advocates to collect vital information about where the most window-caused bird deaths occur, which will hopefully help persuade the owners of those particularly problematic buildings to take steps to diminish bird fatalities.
Also, I encourage you to take simple actions in your own home to help ensure that Philadelphia is a safe and welcoming place for migrant birds. You can participate in Lights Out by turning off your own outdoor lights at night, or using downward-directed lights if turning them off is not possible, as well as pulling the shades if using indoor lights late into the night. Take part from April 1 to May 31st and from August 15 to November 15 between midnight and 6am. Please join me in taking the Lights Out Philly Residential Pledge!
Participating in Lights Out protects birds like this male Blackpoll Warbler when they stop in your neighborhood on their way north from the tropics. This picture was taken around the corner from my home in West Philly. Photo by Toribird.
Written by:
Toribird