The Problem
Collisions with buildings kill more birds than any other single human factor besides habitat loss and domestic cats. In urban areas, the problem worsens during periods of peak migration in the spring and the fall. Most neo-tropical songbirds migrate at night to avoid turbulence in the air and to utilize stars for navigation. Passing over cities, they are often attracted to artificial lights and frequently strike transparent or reflective windows as they come down to rest and refuel in the mornings. The blow from the collision can be fatal or leave them injured and vulnerable to predators and street sweepers.
What We Do
During spring and fall migratory seasons, Lights Out DC volunteers walk several routes in downtown Washington, DC, to inspect buildings and collect dead or injured migratory birds that have collided with glass. Injured birds are taken to City Wildlife’s rehabilitation center. Dead birds are logged, tagged, and donated to scientific organizations like the Division of Birds at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. The statistics LODC records are used to convince building owners and managers to adopt light abatement procedures and glass mitigation measures for the sake of migrating birds.
Lights Out DC is patterned after highly successful lights-out programs in Chicago, Toronto, Boston, New York City, and Baltimore, to name a few. Our work has been featured in The Washington Post and the Huffington Post, among other publications.
The Results
After more than ten years of data collection and advocacy by our Lights Out DC program, the DC City Council unanimously passed a bill, the Migratory Local Wildlife Protection Act of 2022, requiring bird-safe glass and design on all new construction and substantial external renovations of buildings in the District of Columbia. The mayor signed the bill into law on January 26, 2023. Implementation began on January 1, 2025.
For additional information about our findings, please see below under “Find Out More.” If you would like access to our full data set, please email us at lodc.cw@gmail.com.
Find Out More
Watch our seminar on bird/glass collisions: (inset YouTube video
To see our gallery, download our annual reports, and read about us in the news, click here.
Act Now!
You can report birds killed by window strikes in Washington, DC, at this website: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/bird-safe-dc or email us at lodc.cw@gmail.com.
Injured birds should be reported to City Wildlife by telephone at 202-882-1000.
If you’d like to join Lights Out DC as a volunteer, please email lodc.cw@gmail.com.
Donate to City Wildlife [here] to help rehabilitate window strike victims and other injured wildlife in DC.
Do you own or manage a building and want to make it more bird-safe? Reach out to lodc.cw@gmail.com to discuss strategies, and make a pledge to reduce light pollution
