Submitted by Kelly Burgess
A logo is not just used as a symbol to identify an organization but also to invoke an emotional connection with the audience. Looking at the FLAP Canada logo is a painful reminder of how light pollution poses a dangerous threat to migrating birds all over North America. Here in the Northern Bruce Peninsula, we want to preserve our dark skies and ensure that we don’t contribute to this tragic yet preventable problem.
Organizations such as FLAP (Fatal Light Awareness Program), The International Dark Sky Association, and Audubon, do substantial work in spreading awareness and solutions regarding light pollution. Locally, we are fortunate that the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association (BPBA) formed the Dark Sky Committee (chaired by Mike Warkentin) in order to conserve our dark sky by promoting dark sky friendly lighting practices.
However, organizations can only do so much. It is up to everyone to collectively assist in following guidelines to reduce light pollution and ensure safe migration for our precious birds, especially during migration periods in the spring and fall.
How does light pollution affect bird migration?
Every year billions of birds migrate north in the spring, and south in the fall. About 80% of these birds fly at night using the light from the moon and the stars to navigate their flights. However, as they pass over cities and urban areas on their way, they can become disoriented and confused by bright artificial lights. This often throws them off their migration paths and results in fatalities due to the amount of energy they waste flying around in confusion. This exhaustion then leaves them vulnerable to other urban threats such as colliding with buildings and windows. Each year in Canada, around 25 million migratory birds die as a direct result of colliding with buildings and windows. An estimated one million birds are killed in Toronto every year.
Birds are also attracted to other sources of light such as floodlights and lighthouses where they become trapped inside beams of light, flying around inside them until they drop from total exhaustion.
What can we do to save our birds?
While we can’t tear down all the buildings and structures contributing to light pollution, we can minimize the amount of light that something emits. Locally, we need to be conscious of our own properties and the types of lights we use. As the Bruce Peninsula becomes more populated (as we have seen in the past year especially), we need to educate people about protecting our dark skies.
Some simple ways you can help are to do the following:
1. Turn off any unnecessary lights that you are not using. Nobody expects you to sit in the dark, but you will save yourself some money too by keeping lights to a minimum.
2. Close any drapes or curtains at night to prevent light from escaping and attracting birds.
3. Use motion sensors and timers for your indoor and outdoor lights. Something I just learned about is to down shield exterior lights as it makes a huge difference for light pollution.
4. Check what type of outdoor lights you are using as you should be using warm lights (lights that give off more yellow that blue). These are easily determined by looking for terms such as “soft white” or “warm white” vs “bright white” or “daylight”. You can also check the CCT (Color Coordinated Temperature) rating in the box, a value of 3000K or less is warm or yellow, while higher values are cold or blue.
Education and action are the key components in addressing this issue. Please visit the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association page at https://www.bpba.ca/projects/dark-sky for information about our program and lighting tips. We all need to be part of the solution so that we can continue to enjoy the beauty of our beloved birds.
