Going dark for the birds
Taking small actions could well result in seeing differently what it means when we light up the Capitol dome or a church spire. Now that we know it is killing birds, do we still want to do that?
From sunrise to sunset, birds go about their birdie business and humans get the pleasure of watching them.
At night they retreat to their roosts, right? Only sometimes. At other times of year they are flying thousands of miles — in the dark. That’s how they get here, in the spring, and how they return south in the autumn.
Avian navigating, like the stamina of the creatures that can stay aloft for many days and many miles, is still mysterious. It appears to work somewhat differently among different species. What we do know, however, from dismal evidence, is that too much light is blotting out the stars, for us and for them. Worldwide, populations of songbirds have gone into steep decline, including an estimated one billion dying over North America each year. One reason is that disorientation from too much nighttime light has them crashing into buildings, bridges, towers and other structures.
Humans are often moved most by individual calamities. On the vast scale of billions of birds, the deaths of even a large percentage might not immediately touch us. Yet anyone who has heard the sickening thud of a bird slamming into a window and seen the feathered body on the ground has a different appreciation of the futility of such fatalities. Multiply that by a billion.
The organization Lights Out Connecticut is trying to improve the birds’ odds. Lights Out has been asking people to take a pledge to cut way back on outdoor and even indoor lights during the migratory seasons of spring and fall. Now, someone has had the brilliant notion to ask government to turn off its overnight lights both to lead the way and to dim some of the most brightly lit manmade structures of all, including state Capitol buildings.
The Connecticut House of Representatives has unanimously passed House Bill 6077, which the legislature’s Environment Committee endorsed. Migratory bird advocates are seeking senators to cosponsor “An act concerning the nighttime lighting of state-owned buildings at certain times for the protection of birds” in the Senate.
The language is brief and clear: “To require state-owned and leased buildings to turn off nonessential outdoor lighting during peak avian migration periods in order to assist in preventing birds from flying into the sides of such buildings.”
Scientists say less light at night has proven to cut down on bird deaths from collisions. Partners in Lights Out Connecticut, including the Connecticut Audubon Society, would like to see state buildings turn off exterior lights each year between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. in April and May and from Aug. 15 to Nov. 15. Lights would remain on during the evening hours when people are most likely to be outside.
The proposed bill does not affect private property, but if owners of homes and businesses followed suit, they would not need to curtail holiday lighting. By Nov. 15 the birds would have passed Connecticut.
Seven less hours of electricity multiplied by about 120 days by however many buildings the state owns or leases would surely add up to considerable savings. The state ought to track that information for expenditure reporting if the bill passes and gets the governor’s signature.
Individuals and families may want to take the Lights Out pledge, a list of doable efforts to make the night skies darker, such as turning off spotlights and decorative lighting, dimming upstairs lights, drawing blinds after 11 p.m. and putting outdoor lights on timers and motion sensors, if possible.
Taking small actions could well result in seeing differently what it means when we light up the Capitol dome or a church spire. Now that we know it is killing birds, do we still want to do that?
The Day urges the Senate to follow the House lead, and citizens to voluntarily do the same. It is hard to find measures an individual can take to counteract the effects of pollution; this is one, and it’s for some of our favorite creatures, the birds.