City establishes ‘bird migration awareness’ months to protect migratory birds

By WLOS Staff

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — With Asheville being right in the migratory path of hundreds of thousands of birds each year, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer has proclaimed six months out of the year to be “Bird Migration Awareness Months.”

This proclamation comes as an effort to protect these birds during their peak migration periods, from March to May and from September to November.

As part of a “Lights Out” program, all Asheville businesses, residents and building managers are encouraged to turn off nonessential lighting from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during these spring and fall months to reduce bird mortality while also saving on energy costs.

Millions of birds migrate through Western North Carolina every year, and most fly at night to use the sky to help them navigate. Because of this, bright artificial lights and skyglow can cause birds to become disoriented, often resulting in fatal collisions with buildings.

Asheville was listed among the top 125 U.S. cities with migration-disrupting light pollution and students from the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) have documented bird fatalities at 50 buildings on campus and within city limits.

Asheville is located along the convergence of two neotropical migratory pathways, the Mississippi Flyway and the Atlantic Flyway. It is estimated over 50,000 birds per kilometer per hour fly over Asheville during peak migration times spring and fall. Bird collisions cause as many as one billion bird deaths each year. These deaths are one of the factors most responsible for a 29% decline in North American bird populations since 1970.

“Today we are raising awareness of the importance of reducing threats faced by migratory birds as they journey through our city. We thank the Coalition for a Bird-Friendly Asheville for their commitment to developing a ‘Lights Out’ initiative designed to help protect birds from building collisions,” Manheimer said.

Steps Asheville building owners and managers can take to help prevent fatal bird-window collisions:

Turn off indoor and outdoor lights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. when possible, especially during the months of spring and fall migration (March – May and September – November) Install automatic motion sensors or timers to extinguish unneeded lighting Redirect or down-shield outdoor lights to reduce upward illumination Replace blue-toned lighting (6,000 K+) with warmer, yellow lighting (3,000 K) Ask building employees to draw blinds while working at night

The City of Asheville now joins other North Carolina cities, including Raleigh, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem in promoting a “Lights Out” program.

To learn more about bird-building collisions and how you can help, visit the Coalition for a Bird-Friendly Asheville’s website.

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