We all know that birds can become confused and fly into windows. But, according to ncaudobon.org, migration seasons mean bird casualties at nighttime when large numbers of birds are on the move, navigating by stars and in the midst of cities with lots of well lit buildings.
To try to mediate the problem, the Bird Friendly Communities program was formed. It is a volunteer-based initiative.
Groups of volunteers patrol city streets below buildings collecting the bodies of birds who have been victims of such collisions and they are taking measures to try to lower the body count in the future.
They work with local governments and property owners to have lights turned out or otherwise dimmed in as many buildings and structures as possible during migration seasons. Here are some of their results so far*:
- Five buildings in downtown Winston-Salem turned their lights out earlier during spring and fall migration,
- The city of Raleigh committed to Lights Out for municipal buildings
- New Hope Audubon Society worked with the North Carolina Botanical Garden to stop bird collisions with the installation of window film
While we realize this story is not pet-related, we love all things animal and wanted to report on it because it was something we had not heard about before and wanted to help make others aware of, including those who love their pet birds and, thus, have concern about wild birds as well.