Here’s why the Fort Worth skyline is dimmer than usual. Hint: it’s for the birds.
The city of Fort Worth joins organizations and cities across Texas this month and into June in an effort to help migrating birds safely reach warmer climates during the spring migration.
The city will dim its nighttime lights downtown from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. through June 15 as a continued effort to help migrating birds, the city said in a press release Wednesday. Fort Worth residents are encouraged to do the same by turning off nonessential lights.
Each year, hundreds of millions of birds migrate through Texas, the city said in a press release. Texas especially is an integral state for bird migration — 1 in 3 birds fly through the Lone Star State on their way to warmer climates during migration, according to research by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and Lights Out Texas.
Lights Out Texas is an organization that seeks to protect birds as they migrate. Lights from buildings, such as the ones in downtown Fort Worth, can disorient and confuse birds, especially since migration occurs primarily at night. Confusion from the bright lights can exhaust the birds, making them more likely to crash into buildings, the city’s press release said. Each year, between 365 million and 988 million birds are killed when they collide with buildings, according to studies cited by Cornell.
“The Cornell Lab and our partners are the leaders in this effort,” said Cody Whittenburg, assistant director of the Fort Worth Code Compliance Department, in the city press release. “This is a great educational opportunity for our entire community to take one proactive step to protect these migrating bird populations. Turning the lights out in other populated areas of the city such as shopping centers and outdoor sports venues will also make a huge contribution.”
In the fall of 2021, Fort Worth became the first major Texas city to sign onto the Lights Out campaign for the full season.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 1:43 PM.
