Did you know? Canisius alumnus Alex Sidare’s award-winning Honors thesis estimated that 700,000 to more than 2.5 million birds die annually in Western New York (WNY) alone from residential window collisions. When commercial buildings are included in estimates, this would at least double. Recent research suggests these numbers may be underestimates.
One of the ways that our community can be more bird-friendly is by taking part in the national Lights Out effort.
Adopting this practice here in WNY is particularly important as our region is a central place for migratory birds moving through our Niagara River Corridor Globally Significant Important Bird Area. In WNY, we have a particular responsibility for the impact of light pollution given our region’s history in being “The City of Light” – one of the first places to have electricity in the world! Light pollution doesn’t just harm birds either – it plays a huge role in our ecology!
What can you do to help?
- Visit BirdCast (co-developed by Canisius alumnus Kyle Horton!) to see peak migration times when these actions are most important but consider adopting them year-round to protect our local birds as well as those visiting on their migration journey.
- Turn off all non-essential (don’t compromise safety) lights and close window blinds between 10:00 pm and dawn from April 15-May 31 and August 15-November 15.
- Encourage your communities to adopt these practices (here is a sample letter adapted from National Audubon’s resources – also see https://birdcast.info/science-to-action/lights-out/).
- Keep outdoor cats inside at least during peak times of bird activity. We also call attention to the role of outdoor cats in bird mortality annually with a staggering estimate of 1-4 BILLION birds killed by cats in the U.S. alone each year. And like window collisions, this is likely an underestimate. Research also suggests that staying indoors is better for your cat’s health – read more at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/faq-outdoor-cats-and-their-effects-on-birds.
What to do when you find:
- A dead bird: report to https://dbird.org/ and https://www.birdmapper.org/.
- An injured bird:
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- See https://flap.org/finding-an-injured-bird/ for information,
- In WNY, contact Messinger Woods.
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Submitted by: Jennifer Lodi-Smith, Professor of Psychology
