Letter: Limit lighting to protect birds

Limit lighting to protect birds

Something incredible is happening right now! According to radar data shared by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this past week over 150 million birds have been migrating each night across the U.S. At my bird feeder, I noticed the juncos head north and have seen pine warblers return. But birds need our help. The Cornell Lab notes that North America has lost around three billion birds, or 30% of the bird population, since 1970. Fortunately, there are many ways we can protect birds (to learn more, search the internet for Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds).

One action is limiting outdoor lighting. According to the National Wildlife Federation, smaller birds migrate at night to avoid predatory birds, and some species use the stars to navigate. But light pollution can disorient birds, attracting them to outdoor lighting on buildings and in parking lots. This diversion can exhaust birds, depleting energy needed for their long migrations, and can result in window collisions, a leading cause of bird death.

I urge Weston residents and businesses to consider reducing your outdoor lighting. An option is to put lights on timers, for only the times you need them, or to use motion-activated lighting. A few years ago, I installed affordable, solar-powered motion-activated lights, which turn on for only a few minutes when a person walks by. Another best practice is to make sure your outdoor lighting is aimed downwards and properly shielded so light does not go up into the sky to attract birds. Weston, let’s do our part to limit light pollution and protect birds!

Jacob Sagrans, Fairhope Road