Lights at night are harmful to birds, and other creatures
This Holiday Season, Think Twice About Stringing Up Lights
By Jolian Kangas, RRAS Secretary
Of the myriad impacts human encroachment has begat on wild habitats, one of the less
commonly considered is that of outdoor light pollution. From dense residential lighting
in city skyscrapers to floodlights at rural airstrips, humans have created the equivalent of
daytime illumination during times it should be pitch black.
This phenomenon has led to severe impacts on other species; for birds in particular, it is
a literal waking nightmare.
A study recently published in the journal Science revealed that
birds inhabiting a light-polluted area were extending their active daytime (as measured by
call frequency) by up to 51 minutes on average. Some species fared worse, with variables
including eye size, nesting behavior, and migration paths found to be factors in the overall
impact of excessive artificial light exposure. The result can lead to chronic exhaustion for a
number of birds.
The negative impacts of all this light affect captive birds as well. One of the most
profound moments I’ve ever experienced in interacting with a non-human animal involved
a cockatoo who was upset about being left in a cage with a bright overhead lamp. The bird’s
caregiver had neglected to darken the room before going to bed. It was about 1:30 a.m., and
I was the last person awake in the house. When the bird began screeching, I went to check on
him and noticed the light. I shut if off, and the cockatoo exclaimed in clear English, “Thank
you!”
Now that the year is drawing to a close and holiday festivities are ramping up, perhaps
this is the time to reconsider your choice of decorations. Many of us enjoy the visual spectacle
of a well-adorned house or front yard, sparkling with hundreds of tiny lights. But for a bird,
this type of display is just adding to an unnaturally lit sky during the season of maximum
darkness. Disorientation and injury can and will occur.
“It’s just a light switch away,” Brent Pease, co-author of the study in Science told the
Washington Post, “We’re optimistic about darkening the night again.
