JACKSON, Wyo. — It’s fall migration season and birds rely on dark skies to get to where they need to go. Residents can help birds on the move by dimming their lights.
The regional office of the National Audubon Society for Colorado, Wyoming and Utah forecasts that 5.6 million birds will migrate through the Rockies region this fall. BirdCast recorded that 5,718,000 birds crossed Wyoming during the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 7:40 p.m. until Thursday, Sept. 5 at 6:40 a.m.
“Lights out alert!” Audubon Rockies posted on Wednesday, Sept. 4. “It’s a big night for bird migration. Help them migrate safely by turning off outdoor lights and drawing your curtains.”
According to BirdCast, birds usually begin to migrate 30 to 45 minutes after sunset, with the greatest number in flight two to three hours later. Migrating birds regularly fly up to 10,000 feet above ground, although seasonal timing and weather conditions dramatically impact their distributions.
Wyoming’s nocturnal migrants this fall include: Wilson’s warbler, yellow warbler, Western wood-pewee, common nighthawk, yellow-rumped warbler, orange-crowned warbler, Eastern kingbird, spotted sandpiper, black-headed grosbeak, gray catbird, Western tanager, common yellowthroat, Western kingbird and clay-colored sparrow.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, artificial lighting can attract large numbers of night-migrating birds from as far as 3 miles away. Birds can become confused and entrapped in these areas of bright lights, circling endlessly, depleting energy stores needed for migration, and even colliding with buildings and infrastructure.
“The simple act of turning off outdoor lighting and dimming home lights at night, especially during peak migration in the spring and fall, can help increase a bird’s chances of survival and successful migration,” Fish and Wildlife said via Facebook.
