During migration season, we can lower bird mortality rates by lowering lights.
Deep in the heart of Texas, the stars at night burn big and bright, but if you're hoping to catch a glimpse of the Milky Way over Austin, you are probably out of luck.
Excessive artificial light causes birds to shift migratory and communication patterns, which leads to disorientation and more collisions with buildings. Experts estimate that 1 billion birds die from building collisions each year.Spring migration is underway as millions of birds prepare to fly through Texas. Lights Out, Austin! aims to lower the use of extra outdoor lighting throughout the city to reduce migratory bird deaths from now until mid-April .
Lights Out, Austin! is coordinated by Travis Audubon, a coalition of city, county, and nonprofit leaders, such as Defenders of Wildlife. The campaign is part of a statewide Lights Out led by Audubon Texas in collaboration with Cornell University. This campaign is gaining critical community support, but additional outreach and awareness efforts are needed to influence the design stages of future commercial and residential development in Austin.
Austin is home to 950,000 people and is growing rapidly. In 2021, about 116 new residents moved to the Austin metro area each day, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Texas state demographers predict the metro area will surpass 3 million residents by 2045, and some predict this could happen even sooner. An increase in residents naturally results in an increase in light pollution.
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