World Migratory Bird Day Celebration and Lights Out State College
By Richard A. Novak & Jasmine Fields 

Currently, we are in the peak of the fall migratory period for birds in the United States. You might be seeing birds in the State College area that you don’t normally see at other times of the year, or birds that are returning from their winter stays in the south. Warblers, tanagers, orioles, waterfowl, and more are all making movements through central PA and across the US.

This is a time for celebration! Birds are ecologically important, playing key roles in food webs and ecosystems by eating insects, spreading seeds, and other behaviors. Their songs and calls bring joy to people, and their beauty increases the aesthetic value of the world around us. Many people enjoy birdwatching, and this common hobby can bring lots of economic input to an area.

There are many reasons why birds are something to be valued in a community. October 12th, 2024 will be globally recognized as World Migratory Bird Day. This holiday will also be officially celebrated in State College. State College Sustainability and the US Fish & Wildlife Service will be hosting a “Lights Out” event for our town on the night of the 12th.

What is “Lights Out” and how can you participate? During their migrations, many species of birds travel at night while we are all asleep. Birds use multiple cues to navigate back to their homes, including starlight, moonlight, and perhaps most importantly, a magnetic influence on the bird visual system. It is only relatively recently that artificial light created by cities and towns in industrialized society has been a factor during their migrations. Light pollution emitted by big cities and towns can disorient birds. Many birds are naturally attracted to lights at night, similarly to moths, and it is possible that light emitted by cities can draw birds off of their migratory paths and into developed areas.

Figure 1: Birds migrating at night (Credit: Frans Lanting)

When artificial lights attract birds into areas with many buildings, it increases the risk of birds colliding with structures, especially glass windows. In some cases, birds are so attracted to the light that they will fly around it to the point of exhaustion or collision with a building or object. This effect is worsened on foggy or stormy nights where the light is extra disorienting. In Philadelphia, this similar set of conditions with light and a stormy night caused a large mortality event for birds migrating in the fall, with over 1000 individual birds being killed in one night. (https://www.audubon.org/magazine/spring-2022/philadelphia-darkens-its-skyline-protect)

Several large cities such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia encourage their residents and businesses to reduce unnecessary lighting at night during the migratory period. This includes turning off lights in or on buildings and facilities that may otherwise be left on. These “Lights Out” campaigns have proven successful in these larger cities and have spread awareness about bird conservation in general.

This year, State College will be hosting a Lights Out event of our own on World Migratory Bird Day! If you wish to participate, simply turn your lights off from midnight (or earlier) on the evening of October 12th until 7:00 am the following day. This will be a collective effort to reduce optional lighting on a night when birds are likely to be migrating.

While October 12th will be celebrated as Migratory Bird Day in our area, we encourage you to reduce unnecessary lighting throughout the spring and fall migratory periods. The focus of this lights out effort is simply on lights that may otherwise be left on but aren’t critical. Critical lights include streetlights on roadways and in dark spaces where safety is a concern. These and other areas should always remain lit: safety is a priority! However, if you are at home on May 11th, consider turning off lights in your house or in your yard in areas that you are not using. Simple reductions in light can have a positive impact on birds. And if your neighbor asks about why you’re doing that, let them know about Lights Out!

Throughout the year, some changes can be made to existing lights to make them less impactful to birds. First, consider the usage of motion activated lights. These not only save money by keeping lights off when nobody is in the area using them, but also have the added benefit of keeping lights to a minimum during bird migratory periods. If you have other outdoor lighting, consider using shielding on top of the light feature to prevent upward glow of the light into the sky. This can help focus lighting in areas that we need it, but prevent additional light from being emitted into the night sky. Finally, “yellow” colored lights have been shown to be less disorienting to birds than white lights. 

Figure 2: Options for shielding upward light to prevent light pollution (Credit: NASA Dark Sky Network)

Please consider participating in this year’s Migratory Bird Day celebration in State College by reducing unnecessary lighting on the night of October 12th. Taking the lights out pledge is one small way you can take part. I hope that you feel a new awareness about the birds around us in their community and things you can do to both benefit them and enjoy them in your daily life. If you would like any additional information about Lights Out or bird conservation in general, please contact Richard Novak of the US Fish & Wildlife Service at richard_novak@fws.gov. 

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