People like to leave lights on at night for various reasons. Some neighborhoods are very dark, and maybe it will help deter would-be thieves from wreaking havoc on your property. In Galveston, Texas, lights left on at some city buildings resulted in the death of 395 birds! Police officer Josh Henderson was not prepared for the site when he responded to the call early last week.
Image Credit: Josh Henderson
Henderson, a supervisor in the animal services unit, called the incident an absolute tragedy. Sarah Flournoy, the program manager for Houston Audubon, explained that the lights from the buildings likely confused and disoriented the birds.
Image Credit: Josh Henderson
During migration, it is important for building owners to turn off their lights. In their confusion, the birds flew into the glass windows and died.
Image Credit: Josh Henderson
As you may know, window collisions can happen in broad daylight too. It is estimated that around one billion birds die each year after colliding with windows in the United States.
Image Credit: Josh Henderson