Houston Audubon recommends buildings three stories and higher to turn LIGHTS OUT tonight -- May 4. Conditions are favorable for migratory birds crossing or circumnavigating the Gulf of Mexico to meet strong headwinds and precipitation on the Upper Texas Coast. We recommend buildings three stories and above turn off unnecessary lighting during the entire migration period, March 15 to May 15.
A frontal system is moving into the region from the northwest with high probability of precipitation early Saturday morning between 4:00 AM and 8:00 AM. The Ventusky website can be adjusted to examine weather at various altitudes, times, and associated phenomena for all the weather bugs out there.
Migration for the region is predicted to have medium to high intensity by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s BirdCast Program. It is likely that the weather tonight and tomorrow will push down any migratory birds over the coast from higher altitudes (e.g. 2,000-8,000 ft., their normal migratory altitudes) to altitudes of lowest headwinds, less than 1,000 ft. to ground level.
With grounded birds in the region possible for the next few days, daytime collisions of naïve birds at ground level will be significantly increased. Please consider limiting dangerous threats such as glass surfaces reflecting vegetated habitat and outdoor predators such as house cats. More information on how you can reduce threats can be found at the Houston Audubon Bird-Friendly Communities webpages.
Thank you for making our region safer for wildlife!
