By Ryan Spencer, Summit Daily
As millions of birds start to head south for the winter, Coloradans are turning off outdoor lights to help darken the path for these nocturnal migrators.
Every year, billions of birds migrate south in the fall, starting from about early August through November. Nearly 70% of bird species worldwide are migratory, and about 80% of migratory birds travel at night, according to the National Audubon Society. Already on the night of Aug. 24, the BirdCast project, which uses weather radar to detect migrating birds, showed more than 5.5 million birds flying over Colorado.
“Birds when they migrate at night, they’re navigating via the stars, via the moon, Earth’s magnetic pole, landscape features they can see while up in the sky at night — so shorelines and mountain ranges,” said Jacob Job, the senior director of engagement and development at the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. “And, for some reason, birds are attracted to artificial lights produced by humans.”
During the migration, Lights Out Colorado — a program supported by Dark Sky Colorado and the Denver Audubon — asks residents to take simple actions to help protect the birds traveling at night. This includes shielding outdoor lights to prevent light from being emitted upwards, and turning off lights as early as possible during the bird migration season.
Read more at https://www.summitdaily.com/news/colorado-mountains-bird-fall-migration/.
