Lights Out, Texas! Protect Migrating Birds with This Easy Tip

When you think of migrating birds in Texas, many of us picture all the geese that come here for the winter. On the other hand, there are a variety of these birds that migrate as well, but they tend to ‘fly under the radar’ for many of us.

Just because we may not notice these birds as much, doesn’t mean that they and their migration patterns are any less important.

Get our free mobile app

Spring is a vital time for these birds’ migration, specifically from March 1 to June 15. Many of these birds are traveling through Texas at some point in that time. While it seems like their travels should be simple, there are some problems that humans can assist with.

You see, between one hundred million and one billion birds die every year in collisions with manmade structures. It is one of the biggest killers of migratory birds, and it is often caused by lighting that confuses the birds during their nocturnal travel.

How can you help?

You can help limit that harm done to these birds by simply turning off any non-essential lights between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

This includes turning off landscape lighting, closing your blinds to avoid interior lights shinning outside, pointing essential lighting like security lights downward so they don’t shine into the sky, and using warmer toned lighting on any essential lights.

By simply doing this until June 15, you can help migrating birds make it to their destination without harm. More information is available here.