According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Fatal Light Attraction” has led to the deaths of an estimated 500 million to a billion birds annually in the United States.
Fatal Light Attraction is the “bright light pollution” phenomenon that causes migrating birds to collide with tall buildings that are poorly located, improperly lit, etc. The migrating birds – including shorebirds and neotropical warblers – depend on natural night sky, including the stars, to successfully navigate their way. By turning lights out during these critical overnight peak migration periods in spring (April and May) and fall (September-November), countless birds can be saved, which is the reason that New York State has adopted a policy called “Lights Out New York.”
In addition to benefiting migrating birds, Lights Out promotes sustainability and provides cost- savings to the State.
From April 15 through May 31 and during the peak fall migration, August 15 through November 15, state agencies are being asked to draw blinds and turn off non-essential outdoor lighting during Lights Out times (in spring, from 11 p.m. to dawn). The policy, in place for many public and private buildings, but should be considered by all of us.
Nonessential lighting includes bright lights inside buildings as well as any outdoor lighting, as they are all part of Fatal Light Attraction.
The Western New York Environmental Alliance encourages all state agencies, the City of Buffalo, all regional municipalities, Erie County, Niagara County to adopt Lights Out Policies to help protect birds. Private building owners and homeowners in the corridor can also develop policies and practices that are modeled on the state Lights Out policy. Learn more.
The New York State legislature is now considering further legislation regarding Bird Safe Buildings and Lights Out policies.
- The Bird Safe Buildings Act, S.7098/A.7808, recently renamed the Flaco Act (“Feathered Lives Also Count” Act), will require any new or significantly altered state buildings to incorporate bird-friendly designs such as window and lighting standards.
- The Dark Skies Protection Act, S.7663/A5632 would significantly reduce light pollution in New York by requiring most non-essential outdoor lighting be covered by an external shield, be motion-activated, or be turned off between 11 PM and 5 AM.
The WNYEA endorses the passage of these laws.
Following are some interesting facts:
- Migratory birds play an important role in this regions achieving those designations that we share with places like the Galapagos, Yellowstone, and the Florida Everglades.
- During the spring migration as many as three and a half a million birds have been recorded flying through just Erie County during a single night during spring migration.
- In the winter, birds from the arctic and the boreal forests of the northwest pacific make the Niagara their homes, or travel through here on the way to the Atlantic wintering areas.
- During spring and summer millions of neotropical birds including colorful warblers that winter in the Amazon, migrate through this region and along the lake and river shorelines.
- The birds help preserve the biodiversity of important places like the Amazon, the Arctic and the Great Lakes. They depend on places like the Niagara River Corridor for survival.
- Major migration corridors such as the Niagara River – a Globally Significant Important Bird Area, and a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance – are also part of the Atlantic Flyway.
- The development at Buffalo’s Outer Harbor, including the new amphitheater and new development adjacent to the Times Beach Nature Preserve, are subject to the state policy.
Get connected:
Audubon Lights Out Initiatives
Audubon Existing Lights Out Program Locations
FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program)
Buffalo Ornithological Society