Lights Out Alert for May 21 and May 22

May 21, 2024—Connecticut is on High Alert again for the next two nights as an estimated 700,000 birds will be migrating through the state tonight and tomorrow night.

A High Alert notice from the Colorado State University Aeroeco Lab means it’s a good idea to turn out your exterior lights at night. Birds migrate at night and they are often killed or injured when they crash into buildings after being drawn by outdoor lights.

More than a billion birds a year are killed in North America when they crash into buildings. 

So please make sure you turn out your lights to help prevent birds from getting killed!

As migrating birds pass over brightly lit cities, skyglow drowns out the stars, confusing them and luring them into urban areas. Disoriented birds can either hit buildings directly or circle them until they collapse from exhaustion.

1. Turn out your lights during peak migration: Even without alerts, it helps to dim the lights during these crucial periods:
   • Now through May 31st
   • August 15th through November 15th
2. Report dead birds: If you find a dead bird, please report it on the iNaturalist app or to the Yale Peabody Museum. This helps scientists track the impact of light pollution.
3. Sign up for Lights Out Alerts: We’ll refer to the forecasts generated by the Colorado State University’s AeroEco Lab to let you know when large numbers of birds will be flying over Connecticut. On those nights, please turn off your non-essential outdoor lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sign up HERE to receive Lights Out alerts via text.

Lights Out Connecticut is an effort to help prevent birds from being distracted by artificial light in our state: www.lightsoutct.org.

Keep in mind that many of those migrating birds will be stopping on Connecticut. So the next two days are a great opportunity to participate in Connecticut Audubon’s Migration Magic Birdathon.