Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff Lauren Bolbaum. Here, Buildings and windows kill roughly a billion birds in the United States every year, due in part to the artificial lights that disorient them and cause them to crash in The National Audubon Society and its partners began the Lights Out program in Chicago to alert building owners and managers to this problem and convinced them to turn off unnecessary lights when birds are migrating.
As of early two forty seven cities had adopted Lights Out programs, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Washington, d C. There are also statewide and regional programs, including Lights Out Colorado, Lights Out Georgia, and Lights Out Heartland. Most of these programs are ramping up from August fift through November fift this year to coincide with birds natural fall migration. Okay, but let's talk about why lights are
so dangerous to birds After feral cats. Buildings and windows are the second greatest killer of American birds, especially during the two times a year when many migrate, flying between breeding and wintering habitats, attracted by the bright artificial lights at night. Birds fly into buildings and glass windows and
are often killed by the impact. If they aren't killed, their flight patterns are disrupted, causing them to become disoriented and circle in confusion and interfering with their daytime cycle of resting and refueling. Also, biologists have found that light pollution causes birds to start nesting earlier than normal. The resulting mismatch and timing can cause hungry chicks to hatch
before their food supply is available. A lights out works on mitigating these problems by requesting building owners and managers turned lights off during the migration season from midnight to six am each morning. Audubon recommends they quote turn off exterior decorate of lighting, extinguished spot and floodlights, a substitute strobe lighting where possible, Reduced lobby and atrium lighting wherever possible.
Turn off interior lighting, especially on upper floors. Substitute task and area lighting for workers staying late, or pull window coverings down, shield exterior lighting to eliminate all light directed upward and horizontal glare, and install motion sensors and automatic
controls wherever possible. Let's take Philadelphia for example. The city is located along a migration corridor for birds, and each year tens of millions of birds passed through while migrating, making it potentially dangerous if too many lights are left on. Bird Safe Philly, a coalition of nonprofits adjoined together with the City of Philadelphia and its building industry to create Lights Up Philly in It began its first migration season April one of that year, the peak of spring migration.
It ran through thirty one and again August fifteen through November fifteenth, when birds traveled south. During that time, forty one commercial, fifty three residential, and six municipal participants pledged to turn off their lights to help birds out. It may seem like a small measure, but Chicago, the first lights out city in the nation, has reported saving ten
thousand birds every year since it began the program. Even if your city isn't participating in the Lights Out program, you can still help close the blinds or turn off into your lights when you leave a room. If you have control over your outdoor lighting, choose down shielded lighting options, add timers and or motion sensors if possible, and turn off outdoor spotlights or decorative lighting between midnight and six am.
The National Audubon Society also suggests residents of major cities urged their building owners, managers, and other homeowners to turn off outdoor lighting during the months when birds are migrating. While birds are facing a lot of challenges along with the buildings, there's climate change, feral cats, and habitat destruction. We can them out by working to fix the problems
that we've created. Today's episode is based on the article Audubon's Lights Out program Kills the Lights to Save the Birds on houst works dot Com, written by Stephanie Parker. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with houst Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.