Please find the enclosed proclamation from Mayor Hogsett: HERE

It has been long known that birds will fly incredible distances as they travel north to their breeding grounds in the spring and back south for the winter. Many of these species traverse entire continents, with billions passing over the entirety of the US every year. Of the over 400 species that migrate across the country, a large percentage of them do so nocturnally. Unfortunately, they face many threats along the way, with one of the prime dangers being artificial light at night.

This illumination, especially over large metro areas, but also in suburban and some rural areas, contributes to extensive light pollution. In turn, the stars that birds use to navigate become more difficult to see, and the lights left on cause mass confusion. Resulting from this, birds flying over cities
become disoriented and either fly around until exhaustion or are drawn towards urban landscapes which are full of potentially fatal hazards, most notably buildings with clear, glass windows or reflective glass paneling. Estimates range from about 300 million to an astounding billion avian casualties a year. In the US alone!

Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate and even prevent these unnecessary deaths. A major help would be to dim or completely turn off any extraneous lighting, indoors and outdoors, from dusk to dawn, especially during those seasons when migratory flights are the most intense. These include extinguishing any decorative, upward-facing, or atrium lighting, as well as any lights in rooms which are not being used
after dark. Installing timers or motion-sensing lights can minimize use as well. Another benefit includes energy savings of as much as $100 per month for every 1,000 kwh of electricity turned off. As such, we with Bird Safe Indy and, subsequently, the Amos Butler Audubon Society (ABAS) kindly request that you share the specifics of this proclamation with the public through a public service announcement to encourage lighting practices that will save birds and save energy.

Thank you,

Austin Broadwater – Bird Safe Indy Chair

Chuck Anderson – ABAS President

Laurie Voss – ABAS Secretary

Greg Silver – Assisting Attorney

If you have any questions or comments, please let us know at info@amosbutleraudubon.org