Wildlife advocates are asking people along the Front Range to turn off lights in the evening to help birds stay on track for fall migration. Fall migration typically runs through August and September.
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Denver Audubon is a partner with the Lights Out Colorado Initiative. Reducing light pollution is important to migratory birds because many travel at night, and artificial lights can distract and disorient them. Getting thrown off course can also put a bird in the path of an outdoor cat.
“It can lead them into cities where they're more susceptible to other threats, so it's not just the lights themselves,” Denver Audubon Communications Manager Dori Edwards said “It's that the birds can go towards the lights, and then they're more susceptible to window collisions, which is a huge issue that we have in urban dense areas.”
As many as 25-million birds of a variety of species are expected to fly over Colorado during fall migration.
“Yellow warblers are one that we will see a lot - they're these adorable, bright yellow birds,” said Edwards. “You can see yellow-rumped warblers, MacGillivray's warblers; a lot of hummingbirds as well that we don't see the rest of the year.”
Edwards recommends turning off exterior lights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. during migration seasons.
During this migration season, Denver Audubon and Bird Conservancy of the Rockies are partnering on bird banding efforts.
"Bird banding is not only a beautiful and transformative experience, but it is a critical conservation effort that informs how we can better support birds and their habitats,” says Denver Audubon. “As part of the Central Flyway, we have the opportunity to witness over 345 species that live or migrate through the region.”
The public can get a close-up view of both resident and migratory bird species at the Denver Audubon Nature Center during these banding sessions. Trained professionals will carefully catch birds, record data and put leg bands on them for tracking.
