Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Bolbaum. Here, Buildings and windows kill roughly
Speaker 1: a billion birds in the United States every year, due
Speaker 1: in part to the artificial lights that disorient them and
Speaker 1: cause them to crash in The National Audubon Society and
Speaker 1: its partners began the Lights Out program in Chicago to
Speaker 1: alert building owners and managers to this problem and convinced
Speaker 1: them to turn off unnecessary lights when birds are migrating.
Speaker 1: As of early two forty seven cities had adopted Lights
Speaker 1: Out programs, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Washington,
Speaker 1: d C. There are also statewide and regional programs, including
Speaker 1: Lights Out Colorado, Lights Out Georgia, and Lights Out Heartland.
Speaker 1: Most of these programs are ramping up from August fift
Speaker 1: through November fift this year to coincide with birds natural
Speaker 1: fall migration. Okay, but let's talk about why lights are
Speaker 1: so dangerous to birds After feral cats. Buildings and windows
Speaker 1: are the second greatest killer of American birds, especially during
Speaker 1: the two times a year when many migrate, flying between
Speaker 1: breeding and wintering habitats, attracted by the bright artificial lights
Speaker 1: at night. Birds fly into buildings and glass windows and
Speaker 1: are often killed by the impact. If they aren't killed,
Speaker 1: their flight patterns are disrupted, causing them to become disoriented
Speaker 1: and circle in confusion and interfering with their daytime cycle
Speaker 1: of resting and refueling. Also, biologists have found that light
Speaker 1: pollution causes birds to start nesting earlier than normal. The
Speaker 1: resulting mismatch and timing can cause hungry chicks to hatch
Speaker 1: before their food supply is available. A lights out works
Speaker 1: on mitigating these problems by requesting building owners and managers
Speaker 1: turned lights off during the migration season from midnight to
Speaker 1: six am each morning. Audubon recommends they quote turn off
Speaker 1: exterior decorate of lighting, extinguished spot and floodlights, a substitute
Speaker 1: strobe lighting where possible, Reduced lobby and atrium lighting wherever possible.
Speaker 1: Turn off interior lighting, especially on upper floors. Substitute task
Speaker 1: and area lighting for workers staying late, or pull window
Speaker 1: coverings down, shield exterior lighting to eliminate all light directed
Speaker 1: upward and horizontal glare, and install motion sensors and automatic
Speaker 1: controls wherever possible. Let's take Philadelphia for example. The city
Speaker 1: is located along a migration corridor for birds, and each
Speaker 1: year tens of millions of birds passed through while migrating,
Speaker 1: making it potentially dangerous if too many lights are left on.
Speaker 1: Bird Safe Philly, a coalition of nonprofits adjoined together with
Speaker 1: the City of Philadelphia and its building industry to create
Speaker 1: Lights Up Philly in It began its first migration season
Speaker 1: April one of that year, the peak of spring migration.
Speaker 1: It ran through thirty one and again August fifteen through
Speaker 1: November fifteenth, when birds traveled south. During that time, forty
Speaker 1: one commercial, fifty three residential, and six municipal participants pledged
Speaker 1: to turn off their lights to help birds out. It
Speaker 1: may seem like a small measure, but Chicago, the first
Speaker 1: lights out city in the nation, has reported saving ten
Speaker 1: thousand birds every year since it began the program. Even
Speaker 1: if your city isn't participating in the Lights Out program,
Speaker 1: you can still help close the blinds or turn off
Speaker 1: into your lights when you leave a room. If you
Speaker 1: have control over your outdoor lighting, choose down shielded lighting options,
Speaker 1: add timers and or motion sensors if possible, and turn
Speaker 1: off outdoor spotlights or decorative lighting between midnight and six am.
Speaker 1: The National Audubon Society also suggests residents of major cities
Speaker 1: urged their building owners, managers, and other homeowners to turn
Speaker 1: off outdoor lighting during the months when birds are migrating.
Speaker 1: While birds are facing a lot of challenges along with
Speaker 1: the buildings, there's climate change, feral cats, and habitat destruction.
Speaker 1: We can them out by working to fix the problems
Speaker 1: that we've created. Today's episode is based on the article
Speaker 1: Audubon's Lights Out program Kills the Lights to Save the
Speaker 1: Birds on houst works dot Com, written by Stephanie Parker.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with
Speaker 1: houst Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang.
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