Lights Out, Texas! from 22 April to 12 May 2025 for Spring Bird Peak Migration.
- Manager
- Apr 29
- 3 min read
• Summary: Turn off all non-essential indoor and outdoor lights from 11 pm - 6 am every night from 22 April 22 to 12 May 2025 to protect out Texas migrating birds. Willow Park may not have tall buildings but many Willow Park citizens have residential flood light. And those who work in the Metroplex should remind their high-rise offices to consider dimming or turning off lights during PeaK Migration. Full Spring migration spans from 01 March to 15 June.
• Latest Update: Tuesday, 29 April, 2025
Lights Out, Texas! from 22 April to 12 May 2025 for Spring Bird Peak Migration
In Spring, one in every three birds traveling through the U.S. touches Texas. But as beautiful as this migration is, there’s a dark side to it. Every year, between one hundred million and one billion birds die in collisions with man-made structures, and a surprising culprit lies in plain sight: light pollution. [1]
The Spring migration spans from 01 March to 15 June; Spring Peak Migration for birds occurs in Texas from 22 April to 12 May 2025. When birds are migrating through Texas, building owners, homeowners, businesses, and developers can help by turning off non-essential lights indoor and outdoor lights from 11 pm - 6 am every night This means no decorative lighting, no unnecessary outdoor lighting, and, where possible, dimming or extinguishing any indoor lights that could be visible from the outside. [1, 2, 3]
Willow Park Civics Sources and Resources
[1] ‘Lights Out Texas’ Safeguards Migratory Birds Under the Night Sky, Fort Worth Magazine, 25 March 2025
Two billion migratory birds pass through Texas yearly, but light pollution puts them at risk — here’s how you can help.
When the seasons shift, the Texas air fills with the stirring flight of nearly two billion migratory birds, passing through one of the world’s most vital corridors for wildlife. In spring, one in every three birds traveling through the U.S. touches Texas, while in fall, the state becomes the highway for one in four. It’s one of the planet’s greatest wildlife spectacles — a rush of wings in the twilight hours.
But as beautiful as this migration is, there’s a dark side to it. Every year, between one hundred million and one billion birds die in collisions with man-made structures, and a surprising culprit lies in plain sight: light pollution.
The birds’ migration patterns are predictable, and understanding when they’re most at risk helps us take action at the right time. The spring migration spans from March 1 to June 15, with peak migration occurring between April 22 and May 12.
From 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., when birds are migrating through Texas, building owners, homeowners, businesses, and developers can help by turning off non-essential lights. This means no decorative lighting, no unnecessary outdoor lighting, and, where possible, dimming or extinguishing any indoor lights that could be visible from the outside. This small step has the power to save countless lives.
[2] Bird migration forecast maps, BirdCast, Bird migration forecasts show predicted nocturnal migration 3 hours after local sunset and are updated every 6 hours. These forecasts come from models trained on the last 23 years of bird movements in the atmosphere as detected by the US NEXRAD weather surveillance radar network.
[3] Lights Out, Texas! Providing Safe Passage for Nocturnal Migrants, Audubon Texas
• Lights Out, Texas! from 05 Sept to 20 Oct 2023 for Fall bird migration. Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 22 September 2023
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