JACKSON, Wyo. — The month of May officially begins the peak of spring bird migration in Wyoming, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reminds residents to dim lights at night for flying birds.
As of April 27, BirdCast has reported that approximately 8,688,000 birds have flown across Wyoming during their annual northern migration. In one night alone, from Sunday, April 28 at 8:10 p.m. until Monday, April 29 at 6 a.m., approximately 197,500 birds crossed Wyoming.
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, according to BirdCast.
Some expected nocturnal migrants include: yellow-rumped warblers, willets, vesper sparrows, orange-crowned warblers, American avocets, house wrens, long-billed dowitchers, Brewer’s sparrows, marbled godwits, Say’s phoebes, Savannah sparrows, cinnamon teals, Wilson’s phalaropes and blue-winged teals.
According to Fish and Wildlife, birds are frequently attracted to artificial lighting, especially during inclement weather events during migration. Lights can cause confusion, disorientation and exhaustion – directly impacting their ability to migrate.
“This simple act of turning off or dimming lights, can help save the lives of birds as they traverse across the country,” Fish and Wildlife said via social media. “It’s not ill-eagle, but dimming your lights isn’t a birden. BOOM! We got bird migrations jokes!”
