Arlington Residents Encouraged To Turn Off Non-Essential Lights As Part Of Statewide ‘Lights Out Nights' Initiative To Protect Migrating ...

Press release from the City of Arlington:

April 20, 2021

Looking for an easy way to help protect our feathery friends? Arlington residents are encouraged to dim or turn off any non-essential lighting between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the next three weeks as part of a statewide initiative to protect birds as they migrate through the Lone Star State this spring.

On Monday, Mayor Jeff Williams proclaimed April 19 through May 7, 2021, which is considered the peak spring migration season for birds, as Lights Out Nights for Bird Safety in Arlington. Click here to read the Lights Out Nights for Bird Safety in Arlington proclamation.

Every spring and fall, nearly 2 billion birds travel through the state of Texas, a number that represents between a quarter and a third of all birds migrating through the country. These migrating birds must contend with light pollution during their night-time travels. Light attracts and disorients migrating birds, confusing and exhausting them as well as making them vulnerable to collisions with buildings and other urban threats, such as cats, according to the Lights out Texas website.

Click here to learn more about Lights out Texas, a statewide initiative led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, former First Lady Laura Bush and other groups, and take a pledge to reduce light pollution during peak bird migrating seasons.

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This press release was produced by the City of Arlington. The views expressed here are the author’s own.