Bird Migration has returned! From August 15 to November 30, billions of birds will be migrating overhead at night.
Lights Out Texas is a community-based collaboration of education, awareness, and action that focuses on turning out lights at night during the spring and fall migrations to help protect the billions of migratory birds that fly over Texas annually.
Lights Out Goals:
Reduce migratory bird mortality
Increase statewide participation in Lights Out Texas at the business, local official, municipal, and community levels
Coordinate local volunteer efforts to collect and report data
How You Can Help
Turn off non-essential lights at night, at work or at home, from 11 pm - 6 am during the fall and spring migration periods.
Fall migration is August 15 through November 30, 2023. Peak Migration will occur from September 6 through October 29.
If conflicts apply, prioritize turning lights out during the critical peak migration period.
Lights Out Texas History
This effort was initially launched in 2017 by Houston Audubon and American National Insurance Company following a major bird collision event involving 400 birds in Galveston. Around this time, Cornell Lab of Ornithology developed its BirdCast migration forecast maps using historical radar data. Later, Lights Out Texas took hold in Dallas-Fort Worth, led by Texas Conservation Alliance, The Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and Dallas Zoo with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University supporting efforts, and Texan by Nature helping with outreach beginning fall 2020. In 2021, Texan by Nature led Lights Out Texas collaboration at the statewide level with these organizations to standardize the approach in messaging, communication, and volunteer efforts across all Texas organizations.
Resources
Birding In Phil Hardberger Park
eBird sightings on the NW Military side of the Park
ebird sightings on the Blanco Road side of the Park
Birdcast Migration Forecasts: https://birdcast.info/