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Birds collide with buildings, especially windows, with astonishing frequency. A 2014 study in the journal The Condor found that between 365 and 988 million birds are killed each year by collisions with buildings in the United States. And in 2019, research published in Borders of ecology and environment revealed that Chicago, Houston and Dallas are the most dangerous cities for migratory birds in the lower 48 states during spring and fall.
Fortunately, conservation groups and birdwatchers are working to alleviate the problem. You can help! Below is a list of 31 programs in North American cities (listed alphabetically by state or province), plus Costa Rica, that encourage building owners to turn off unnecessary lights during periods of migration. Some of the programs also manage volunteer efforts to collect birds that strike buildings and rescue those that are injured. To get involved, visit an organizer’s website.
Light up San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Golden Gate Audubon
Lights on Denver
Denver, Colorado
Denver Parks and Recreation
Lights out Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Delmarva Ornithological Society
Lights out DC
washington d.c.
City wildlife
Lights Out Atlanta and Project Safe Flight Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Audubon Society of Atlanta
Chicago Bird Collision Monitors
Chicago, Ill.
Chicago Audubon Society
Lights over Chicago
Chicago, Ill.
Chicago Audubon Society
Lights out Indy
Indianapolis, Indiana
Amos ButlerAudubon
Light up Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore Bird Club
Bird Strike Team
Boston, MA
Mass Audubon
Bird Strike Team
Boston, MA
Mass Audubon
Great Lakes Safe Passage
Detroit, Ann Arbor and other Michigan cities
Detroit Audubon, Michigan Audubon and Washtenaw Audubon
Minnesota Lights
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, Rochester and other Minnesota cities
Minnesota Audubon
Light up New York
New York, New York
Audubon of New York
Safe Flight Project
New York, New York
Audubon of New York
Charlotte extinct
Charlotte, North Carolina
Mecklenburg Audubon
Bird Collision Project – Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
duke university
Raleigh goes out
Raleigh, North Carolina
Waking Audubon
Lights Out Winston Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Forsyth Audubon
Ohio goes extinct
Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo, Ohio
Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative
Oklahoma City Safe Passage
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma CityAudubon
Safe Wings Ottawa
Ottawa, ON
Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club
FLAP Canada
Toronto, Ontario
Fatal Light Awareness Program
Lights off
Bend, OR
East Cascades Audubon Society
Lights out Portland
Portland, OR
Portland Audubon
BirdSafe Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Lights on the salt lake
Salt Lake City, UT
Tracy Aviary
Charlottesville Area Window Watch
Charlottesville, Virginia
www.facebook.com/charlottesvilleareawindowwatch
Wisconsin Night Guardians for Songbirds
Milwaukee, Wis.
Wisconsin Humane Society
Songways
The goal of this program is to help protect the natural dark night along bird flyways.
Light Pollution Abatement Committee of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
Facebook page
Birds And Windows Collision Project Costa Rica
A project to protect birds from windows in Costa Rica.
https://avesyventanascostarica.wordpress.com
More resources
Just save the birds
The website of Heidi Trudell, one of the leading bird/window collision researchers.
http://blog.justsavebirds.com
Acopian Center for Ornithology, Muhlenberg College
Resources from Dr. Daniel Klem, an ornithologist who has studied the problem of window collisions in depth.
https://www.muhlenberg.edu/academics/biology/faculty/klem/aco/Bird-window.html
Updated on 03/23/20
If you know of a program that should be listed here but isn’t, let us know!
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