Help Migrating Birds Ignore Connecticut, Turn Your Lights Off

Did you know that urban areas of Connecticut can be deathtraps for migrating birds? Neither did I, until I just saw an alert from the State of Connecticut's Bureau of Natural Resources.

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According to the social media post from Connecticut Fish and Wildlife, just about half a million migratory birds will fly over our cute little state tonight. The problem is that Connecticut is filled with quite a few urban areas, which are bad for birds to get stuck in. See, birds tend to migrate at night, and the birds sometimes confuse man-made lights with the stars that guide them. When that happens, bad things happen.

A lost bird could fly into a window, a disoriented bird could circle for hours, until it drops from exhaustion. According to the experts at Lights Out Connecticut, the best thing for the migrating birds is to just ignore Connecticut, and keep going on their way.

So, Lights Out Connecticut is asking you: Residents, Property Owners, Business Owners, Nonprofits, and Officials, to turn off all non-essential, or dim your decorative lights during the Spring and Fall migration. We're smack dab in the midst of the Spring 2022 migration, which runs from April 1 to May 31. The Fall 2022 migration is August 15 - November 15, 2022.

I have noticed a huge increase of birds flying overhead in Torrington over the past couple of weeks. I live right along the Naugatuck River, and my poor Chihuahua RayRay has the crap literally scared out of him when a flock of geese let out a series of loud honks.

If you haven't taken those Xmas decorations down, now would be a great time to do it, and you just might save a little birdy.