Millions of Birds Navigate Nebraska’s Night Skies Amidst Challenges
Every year, Nebraska’s night skies become a crucial migratory passage for millions of birds, primarily songbirds such as sparrows, finches, thrushes, and warblers. These avian travelers rely on the darkness, moon, and stars to guide their journey.
In North America, 75% of the 900 bird species migrate, with a significant 80% undertaking their voyages at night. The cover of darkness offers cooler temperatures, energy conservation, and protection from predators, while celestial navigation aids their journey.
However, the increasing prevalence of artificial lighting poses a serious challenge. Nearly 99% of the population in the United States and Canada live under skies affected by artificial light pollution, which can confuse and disorient birds that are adapted to natural light.
Birds use stars and constellations for navigation, and a magnetic mineral in their bills helps them detect Earth’s magnetic field changes, which intensify near the poles. Unfortunately, artificial lights from buildings can lure birds into urban areas along their migratory paths, leading to fatal collisions.
Each year, nearly one billion birds in the U.S. perish due to building collisions, a concern highlighted by Kaitlyn Parkins, a glass collisions program coordinator with the American Bird Conservancy. Parkins notes that artificial lights increase the risk of daytime collisions by drawing birds into urban environments overnight.
“The sky glow from all of our collective lights tends to draw birds into the built environment for stopover during migration,” Parkins explained. “And the next morning, when they wake up to feed and fly around and forage, they’re surrounded by a maze of glass.”
Birds that collide with buildings may become stunned and disoriented, leading to fatal outcomes either immediately or later due to internal injuries. This can also result in birds wasting energy and becoming vulnerable to other threats.
Paul Pearson, president of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union, stresses the importance of every individual bird, given declining populations. “We need to give them a chance to be able to complete their migration and go to their breeding grounds, to be able to keep these species going,” Pearson stated.
Efforts to mitigate these dangers began in 1991 with “Lights Out” programs promoted by Audubon chapters, Dark Sky advocates, and bird enthusiasts across the U.S. and Canada. These initiatives aim to reduce artificial lighting during critical migration periods and encourage the use of bird-friendly building practices.
“This is an issue that is traditionally associated with cities and skyscrapers, but these buildings actually only make up about 1% of total collisions,” Parkins said. “Forty-four percent of all collisions happen at homes, and 56% happen at mid-rise buildings. This is something we absolutely know how to solve, and everyone can make a difference.”
Legal measures are also gaining momentum, with nearly 30 municipalities adopting bird-friendly building codes. These regulations typically require the use of special materials for glass up to certain heights to prevent collisions.
For instance, New York City’s Local Law 15 mandates that 90% of glass up to 75 feet be bird-friendly, utilizing designs that are visible to birds. However, Nebraska lacks such legislation, and Pearson believes collaboration is key to progress. “I think the biggest thing for Nebraska is that we need to start one of these programs and get buy-in from both businesses, and the public especially,” he said.
To observe live bird migration patterns, the BirdCast map provides real-time data using the U.S. weather surveillance radar network. Brighter colors on the map indicate higher migration traffic rates.
“We have a lot of migrants, and we have a lot of breeding birds, and they all depend on being able to survive those journeys,” Pearson remarked. “Whether it’s from somewhere else to here, or through Nebraska.”
