The fall migratory season for birds is nearing its end, and conservationists say this season has been better than most for birds traveling through Fort Worth.
About 3.5 billion birds fall victim to deadly collisions with buildings every year in the U.S., primarily during their spring and fall migration periods, according to the Texas Conservation Alliance. That number is driven by light pollution and brightly-lit buildings disorienting birds during their journey. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is marked as the third most dangerous area for avian migration, according to data from the alliance.
The alliance’s Lights Out, Fort Worth team tracks the number of bird mortalities through daily walks through downtown. The 2024 fall migration period, which runs between Aug.15 and Nov. 30, has shown improvement, said Lights Out, Fort Worth coordinator Mia Schlicke.
As of Oct. 31, the Lights Out, Fort Worth team recorded 42 bird mortalities, including seven stunned birds.
That number is down from the 110 mortalities documented in fall 2023, but slightly up from the 33 mortalities recorded in the spring.
The fall and winter months tend to see more bird mortalities than the spring as migration from September to November is higher, said Mei Ling Liu, Texas Conservation Alliance community conservation director.
“Because North America is a breeding ground in the summer, there are a lot of birds that actually migrate with their parents or their flock (in the fall),” said Ling Liu.
Still, the 42 mortalities reported for this fall is low considering peak migration runs from Oct. 16 to Nov. 16, said Schlicke.
The reduction in mortalities is, in part, thanks to downtown Fort Worth building owners turning off lights overnight, said Schlicke. Surveys of bird deaths in Fort Worth kicked off in the spring 2023, but Downtown Fort Worth Inc. members began participating in the national Lights Out program as far back as 2021.
Through the alliance, Lights Out, Fort Worth has been focused on hosting workshops to teach city officials and nonprofit organizations how to mitigate the impact of light pollution. Highlighting successes could play a major role in encouraging major cities to partake in the Lights Out program, said Ling Liu.
She referenced the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and its contributions to reducing bird mortalities.
“That convention center used to be a bird killer, it’s a gigantic building,” said Ling Liu. Following renovations in 2014 and the retrofit of a “green roof,” the convention center became a home and breeding ground for different bird species.
“We want to bring those successful cases to the DFW area and see if we can have the similar concept to bring into the city,” said Ling Liu.
The Lights Out, Fort Worth team is also working to bring educational programs to public schools. The program is in the process of launching a curriculum created by the Texas Conservation Alliance to teach children why birds matter and what kind of ecological functions they serve in ecosystems.
“Our campaign is moving toward not just advocacy or talking to city officials. We are actually going to work with the community,” said Ling Liu.
The local Lights Out program is looking to expand its surveys to suburban areas of Fort Worth and college campuses throughout the state.
The program’s previous studies determined 44% of deadly collisions in Fort Worth happen in suburban areas. Mid-size buildings, such as homes, are the second biggest source of fatal bird collisions, according to Ling Liu.
“I think there’s a lot of work to do in the surrounding areas,” said Schlicke.
To support this effort, Lights Out, Fort Worth coordinators plan to reach out to residents. Residents have responded with nothing but support, especially during one-on-one conversations, said Ling Liu.
Educational resources for both Fort Worth leaders and residents also help bring Lights Out, Fort Worth’s message to the community, she said.
In the meantime, North Texas residents can help report fatal collisions and help make studies more accurate, said Ling Liu and Schlicke. Lights Out, Fort Worth has begun using dBird, a website that allows residents to submit incidents of dead and injured birds. The website has been a resource for the program as coordinators began surveying bird deaths on Texas Christian University’s campus.
Through the website, residents can enter an address where a bird was found, submit pictures and specify the species of the bird if known. Schlicke encourages residents to utilize the dBird resource.
“We’re only one team. We can’t collect all the data on the building collisions. We know there is more happening,” said Schlicke. “So spreading the word that anyone can report a bird collision and help us collect this data is what we’re trying to do with this deeper initiative.”
Nicole Lopez is the environmental reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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