Lights Out project launched to save birds

[Realtree]

Lights Out project launched to save birds (2007-03-21)

Two downtown Minneapolis skyscrapers, the 57-story Wells Fargo Building and the 33-story Accenture Building, are the first to sign up with Lights Out Twin Cities, an effort to make the cities more bird friendly during migration.

The Lights Out Twin Cities project is encouraging city, state and privately owned buildings to turn off non-necessary lighting during peak migration hours during spring and fall. The Minneapolis and St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Associations have expressed interest as well, and are encouraging their members to sign on to this exciting project.

This spring's Lights Out effort started March 15 and runs through the end of May from midnight until daylight. Most songbirds migrate at night and must navigate around hazards like tall buildings along their routes.

Millions of birds die preventable deaths each year as they are drawn to and collide with lighted buildings or are dazed by the lights and circle until exhausted.

Lights Out programs in Toronto, Chicago and New York, where many buildings are dimmed during migration, have a proven track record of saving migratory birds, according to Mark Martell, director of bird conservation for Audubon Minnesota.

"Reducing bird deaths from collisions will have a positive effect on bird conservation," said Martell. "The Lights Out program costs building owners or managers little or nothing to implement and will save energy and money at the same time it saves birds."

Lights Out Twin Cities is a joint effort by the Department of Natural Resources' Nongame Wildlife Program, the Audubon Society, the Bell Museum of Natural History, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and Bird Conservation Minnesota.

Minnesota citizens can help this effort by donating to the Nongame Wildlife Program on their state tax forms. Volunteers are needed to monitor buildings where they live or work to collect fallen birds. This information can be used to assess the magnitude of bird mortality in the Twin Cities.

Those interested in volunteering for Lights Out Twin Cities may sign up for a training session in mid-April by contacting the state Audubon Society office at (651) 739-9332.