Lights Out for Birds
Each night and each light turned out helps save migrating birds!
Most North American migratory birds fly at night, and lights on buildings can disorient birds on their paths, resulting in fatal collisions. The Upper Texas Coast plays a key role on the Central Flyway, an important migratory path for birds. Birds that move along and across the Gulf of Mexico depend on safe passage through the Houston-Galveston area. Throughout migration, and particularly during storm fronts, turning Lights Out for Birds can make a big difference.
We encourage businesses, buildings, and individuals across the state to turn off all nonessential lights from 11 PM to 6 AM throughout spring and fall migration.
Spring Migration: March 1 - June 15. Peak period: April 22 - May 12
Fall Migration: August 15 - November 30. Peak period: September 5 - October 20
You can also follow Houston Audubon on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see Lights Out Action Alerts for our region.
The following organizations have pledged to turn their lights out for birds!
| City of Houston | City of Galveston |
| Downtown Houston | 1100 Louisiana |
| 1415 Louisiana | 1600 Smith |
| 2 Houston Center | 3050 Post Oak |
| 4 Houston Center | 601 Travis |
| 609 Main | 717 Texas |
| 811 Louisiana | 811 Main |
| 910 Louisiana | Amegy Tower |
| American National Insurance Company | Discovery Green |
| Energy Transfer Building | Fulbright Tower |
| GreenStreet | Heritage Plaza |
| Hess Tower | Hilcorp Energy |
| Jones on Main | JPMorgan Chase Tower |
| KBR Tower | LyondellBasell Tower |
| Lyric Center | Offices at Park Ten Phase I |
| Offices at Park Ten Phase II | One Allen Center |
| San Felipe Place | Texas Tower |
| The Highlight at Houston Center | Three Allen Center |
| TotalEnergies Building | Towers at Westchase I |
| Towers at Westchase II | Two Allen Center |
| West Memorial Place I | George Observatory |
| 5POP |
Get your organization involved in the Lights Out for Birds program! Email Gabriel Durham at gdurham@houstonaudubon.org for more information or to make a pledge.
Timeline
Houston Audubon’s Lights Out for Birds Program started in 2017 after a large collision event in Galveston. Thanks to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University’s BirdCast bird migration forecast maps, Houston Audubon staff were able to track migration predictions for the region and issue alerts to the community when a chance of high migration coincided with weather events. Learn about the history of the Lights Out program.
Resources
Learn more ways to help migratory birds on our Bird Friendly Houston website.
