Right now, Wisconsin’s night skies are busy with travelers.
About 80% of migratory birds travel at night, using the stars, moon, and other natural cues to help guide their journeys. During peak migration, artificial light can interfere with that navigation, drawing birds toward brightly lit buildings and other structures and increasing the risk of collisions.
That’s why DarkSky Wisconsin is proud to work with Lights Out Wisconsin to encourage communities, businesses, and individuals to turn off or dim non-essential outdoor lighting during migration.
You can help make Wisconsin’s night skies safer for birds:
- Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights at night.
- Use timers, motion sensors, or other controls so lights are only on when needed.
- Close blinds or curtains to reduce light escaping from buildings.
- Choose warm-colored (2200K or lower), shielded lighting that directs light downward when outdoor lighting is necessary.
Not every night of migration is the same. Some nights have much larger movements of birds than others. BirdCast uses migration forecasts to identify these peak nights, helping us know when turning off unnecessary lights can be especially important.
BirdCast sends alerts for the top 10% of migration nights—about 8–10 nights each season—that collectively account for roughly half of all migration. Signing up for these alerts is a simple way to know when major migration is expected in our area and when we should be especially mindful of unnecessary outdoor lighting.
Know when the birds are moving. Turn off unnecessary lights when they are—and make turning off unnecessary lights a nightly habit.
Sign up for BirdCast migration alerts.
