Last night, more than 600,000 birds flew over Acadiana on their way to spring nesting sites.
Before the spring migration ends in June, it's estimated that millions of birds will have flown over our area, traveling from points south to points north.
"Just think about these little bity birds starting on the coast of South America or in Central America and flying all that way to get to us, so they can nest for the spring season," says Charles Williams, a Louisiana Wildlife Federation board member and founder of the Lights Out Louisiana initiative.
Unfortunately, many of those little birds will never make it to nest, because they'll crash into buildings and die, he said. Studies have found that collectively, these migrating species' numbers have dropped by almost 30 percent over the past 40 years - and some numbers have been reduced by upwards of 60 or 70 percent, Williams said.
"It's an overwhelming problem, and it's due to many things like climate change and changing habitat, but there is this little thing we all can do. It's low-hanging fruit. Turn out the lights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.," Williams says.
"What we're talking about is a small step that each and every one of us, or most of us, can take to help reduce the toll of birds killing themselves by running into buildings as they migrate through Louisiana in the spring and the fall."
Lights on homes, in landscaping and on buildings can disorient the birds. He explained that most birds fly at night to avoid predators and because they navigate using the stars and moon. It's estimated that about 1 billion birds die every year crashing into buildings, Williams said.
"We want to put a dent in that," he said. It's one of the leading causes of bird deaths.
You can help - and maybe save a few bucks on the electric bill - by turning off bright or outside lighting between 11 p.m. and 6 p.m. in April and May, and then again in August and October, to help migrating birds.
Louisiana sits within the Mississippi Flyway migratory path, with the state’s vast wetlands, forests, and coastline serving as critical stops along the birds’ migration routes. Twice a year, 325 bird species travel the Mississippi Flyway, including 40% of shorebirds. During the 2023 fall migration, an estimated 500 million birds migrated through the state of Louisiana. The majority of those birds migrate at night and typically start their nightly migration about 30 to 45 minutes post-sunset, with peak flights between 10 and 11 p.m.
While the dark skies allow the migratory birds to avoid predators, take advantage of calmer air and utilize the moon and stars for navigation, it also brings with it other dangers such as bright artificial lights and the skyglow from larger cities that can confuse the birds, often causing them to fatally collide into buildings or windows.
Here's what you can do to help:
Turn off non-essential lights nightly from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. during the migration period.
Avoid using landscape lighting on trees or gardens where birds may be resting.
For essential security and safety lighting, use these dark skies-friendly lighting adjustments:
- Aim lights downwards.
- Use light shields to direct light downwards and prevent an upward glare.
- Use motion detectors and sensors so lights turn on when needed.
- Close blinds at night to limit the amount of light seen through windows.
Building owners and managers can:
Adjust custodial schedules to be completed by 11:00 p.m.
Ensure lights are turned off after custodial cleaning.
And, tall buildings (three stories or taller) can dim or turn off:
- Exterior/decorative lighting.
- Lobby/atrium lights.
- Perimeter room lights on all levels.
- Floodlights.
- Lighting on interior plants/fountains.
- Lights on vacant floors.
- Lights with blue-rich white light emissions (over 3000 K in color temperature.)
- Instead use:
- Desk lamps or task lights instead of overhead lights.
- “Warm-white” or filtered LEDs outdoors (less than 3000 K in color temperature.)
For more information about this topic, visit the Louisiana Wildlife Federation here.
