Millions of birds die crashing into Houston buildings. A darker skyline could save them
Bird enthusiasts speak in somber tones recalling the evening in May four years ago when nearly 400 winged carcasses were found at the foot of the American National building in Galveston. American Redstarts and Nashville and Blackburnian warblers were just two among two dozen different species found dead. On a migratory path back from warmer confines, their flight pattern shifted low because of a storm to create a deadly collision course with the 32-story downtown building.
The building’s managers tried to sweep up hundreds of tiny carcasses before people reported for work the next week. And they asked local bird experts what they could do to avoid future incidents.
A 2019 study by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology estimated 600 million birds die each year by colliding with buildings. Only Chicago topped Houston for casualties, in both spring and fall, with Dallas third.
The Lights Out for Birds Program began in Houston shortly after the Galveston incident. As is often the case with behaviors, change has come slow.
The past year has seen a stronger push and greater civic response to the Lights Out initiative. Houston this spring is the center of a particularly focused effort to get tall buildings, car dealerships and private residences to turn down non-essential lights in hopes of providing safer passage for an estimated 2 billion birds that pass through the Central Flyway this time of year. Texas is the gateway for that swath of land, as birds begin to spread across North America. The hope is to create a less threatening environment for species like the Allen’s Hummingbird, the Wood Thrush and others as they do so.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/lifestyle/home-garden/article/A-darker-Houston-sky-is-the-goal-of-Lights-Out-16106554.php
https://news.yahoo.com/austin-businesses-turning-off-lights-185402921.html
