Lights Out, DFW!
Turn off your lights, protect wildlife.
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It's fall migration! Keep birds flying high by turning off non-essential lighting from 11 p.m. - 6 a.m.
Critical Migration Period: September 6 - October 29
August 15 - November 30
The Challenge.
Texas is essential for migratory birds, with millions soaring across our Lone Star skies every spring and fall. Most birds migrate at night, and brightly lit buildings can confuse and disorient them on their journey, resulting in deadly collisions. In the US, as many as 1 billion birds die from collisions with buildings every year! Because of light pollution, the DFW metroplex is the 3rd most dangerous area in the United States for migratory birds to travel through.
Our Campaign.
Lights Out, DFW! is a behavior change campaign targeting non-essential lighting in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Aiming to ensure a darker night sky, all business owners and residents are encouraged to go lights out during bird migration seasons.
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Throughout fall and spring migrations, collision surveys are conducted daily along set routes in downtown Dallas and Fort Worth to assess lights-out efforts. During these early morning surveys, volunteers document and collect bird-building
collision fatalities and rescue stunned and injured birds. Collected specimens enter a salvage pipeline to be incorporated into the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections (BRTC) at Texas A&M University, where samples are taken to support avian research projects at Texas A&M and beyond.
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TCA has partnered with other non-profit organizations such as Dallas Zoo, Texas Master Naturalists, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Trinity River Audubon Center, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus, and Fort Worth Audubon Society to conduct these surveys.
What You Can Do.
By turning off non-essential lighting from 11pm-6am, you can provide migratory birds safer passage across the Texas night sky. Certify your home or business with Lights Out For Wildlife! It's free and easy.
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Click to learn more and make the pledge.
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Interested In Volunteering?
Volunteers play a crucial role in supporting our collision survey efforts. By volunteering with the Lights Out, DFW! team, you help save stunned or injured birds, gather valuable data for research, and promote a darker night sky in our community. The program has encouraged hundreds of citizens to participate in community science.
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Please submit this interest form. Both groups and individuals are welcome.
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How We Started And What We've Found.
TCA is an on-the-ground leader in a statewide effort to darken the night sky, Lights Out, Texas! This citizen-science and outreach initiative, led by Audubon Texas, started in 2017 in response to a mass fallout-collision event in Galveston that killed nearly 400 songbirds in one night.
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Our campaign started in fall of 2020 in response to a publication that found, out of the 125 largest urban areas in the continental US, DFW ranks 3rd highest in exposing migratory birds to light pollution. Though originally just Lights Out, Dallas! our work has since expanded across the DFW metroplex with Lights Out, Fort Worth! in Spring 2023. Over each of the past six migratory seasons, TCA has conducted 57 to 80 consecutive surveys, collecting hundreds of mortalities over 100 species.
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Thanks to 4,282 hours of volunteer service, TCA has surveyed 3,761 miles, collected 2,040 mortalities, performed 176 rescues, and ensured lights-out action from hundreds of businesses and homes.
Find our Spring 2023 Survey Highlights and Observations below:
Lights Out, DFW! Updates
Want to get updates throughout the Lights Out season? Sign up here for emails!
Lights Out for Wildlife Certification
Every person and every business, school, hotel, home, high rise, restaurant, municipal building, and place of worship can receive a Lights Out for Wildlife certification. Certification comes with a certificate to celebrate your pledge to save wildlife and lets you share your commitment publicly with colleagues, coworkers, customers, family, and friends. It provides a public way to show off your commitment to conservation while inspiring others to take action and join in. Certification is a source of pride for all involved and it's free, so sign up today!
