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 migration. Most neo-tropical songbirds migrate at night to avoid turbulence in the air and they navigate by the stars. Passing over cities, they are often attracted to artificial lights and frequently strike transparent or reflective windows. The blow can be fatal or it can leave the birds injured and vulnerable to predators and street sweepers.
During migratory seasons, Lights Out DC volunteers walk a four-mile route in downtown Washington to inspect buildings and collect dead or injured migratory birds that have collided with glass. Injured birds are monitored and released (if recovered) or taken to City Wildlife’s rehabilitation center if their injuries are more severe. Dead birds are tagged and saved. The statistics are used to convince building owners and managers to adopt light abatement procedures 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 publications by the BBC, Washington Post, and Huffington Post.
After more than ten years of data collection and advocacy by our Lights Out DC program, the City Council unanimously passed a bill, the Migratory Local Wildlife Protection Act of 2022, requiring bird-safe glass and design on all new and majorly renovated buildings in the District of Columbia. The mayor signed the bill into law on January 26, 2023.
Watch our seminar on bird/glass collisions:
You can report birds killed by window strikes in Washington, DC at this website. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/bird-safe-dc. Injured birds should be reported to City Wildlife by telephone at 202-882-1000.
To see our gallery, download our annual reports, and read about us in the news, click here.
If you’d like to join Lights Out DC as a volunteer, please email LODC@citywildlife.org.
