Louisiana Residents Urged to Turn Off Outdoor Lights

(Lafayette, Louisiana) - Millions of birds will be migrating across Louisiana, and now one wildlife nonprofit has a few tips people in "The Bayou State" can follow to make sure birds taking flight travel safely.

If you are a bird lover, you willl love what the Louisiana Wildlife Federation is advising people to do as birds move through the south.

The LWF encourages residents (homeowners) and businesses to turn off their bright lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day as the peak springtime bird migration continues until May 31. Now, if you have lights on for security purposes, you may want to reconsider the suggestion; however, if you have any unnecessary lights on, then you may want to consider turning them off as millions of birds relocate.

Birdcast follows and documents the migration of birds, and as you will see below, millions of birds will cross Louisiana, which is part of the Mississippi Flyway migration path.

How Turning Lights Off Protects Birds Migrating

Turning off any unnecessary bright lights around your property prevents nocturnal birds from being confused or disoriented in their migrations. This can prevent birds from flying into buildings and injuring or killing themselves.

Artificial light attracts birds into urban areas, causing fatal collisions with lit windows, with an estimated 1 billion bird deaths annually in the U.S.

For more on why you should turn your lights off during peak migration season in the south, check out this video below.