Our mission:
Make migration safer for birds
Every spring and fall, millions of birds migrate through Louisville on their way between their breeding and overwintering grounds. Most species of songbirds migrate at night. Lights on tall buildings or aimed at the sky can attract or disorient them—causing many birds to collide with windows or circle buildings until they fall from exhaustion.
The Smithsonian estimates 300 million to 1 billion birds are killed each year due to collisions with artificially lit buildings. Another recent study suggests—in the U.S. alone—that number could be 1.92 to 5.19 billion, with potentially billions more across the world.
Lights Out Louisville aims to change that.
Join the Louisville Audubon Society as we expand our community efforts to make our city safer for migratory wildlife.
Anyone can be part of the solution.
By joining Lights Out Louisville, you can help to reduce the impacts of light pollution on migratory songbirds.
You’ll also cut your energy costs, reduce your carbon footprint, and help preserve views of the night sky.
Learn why both residences and non-residential buildings should go Lights Out—and how easy it is to be a part of the solution. Join us using one of the links below.
Track bird migration in real time
BirdCast offers real-time maps—produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology—that show the intensities of nocturnal bird migration.
Its bird migration forecast maps—produced by Colorado State University and Cornell Lab, and updated every six hours during migration periods—predict nocturnal migration three hours after local sunset.
LAS joins BirdCast in asking residents, businesses and non-residential organizations, and building owners and operators to turn off nonessential lights during peak migration periods.