Lights Outis a statewide campaign, attempting to conserve bird populations across the U.S
“There not flying super high, these are small birds. These are our hummingbirds, our warblers so then they’re more likely to hit buildings,” says Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve and Learning Center, Preserve Manager, Sara Jose.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says roughly 41 million birds per kilometer per hour are traveling over Texas Thursday, Sept 9, 2021, possibly stopping along the Coastal Bend.
“If you see the migratory birds here on land they’ll usually be in the trees, some of them eat bugs,” said Rae Mooney.
Rae Mooney, the Port Aransas Nature Preserve manager says the city is a great place to see birds migrating down south to the Yucatan peninsula.
In fact, the nature preserve has been certified as a bird city by Texas Parks and Wildlife.
“This is either their last stop before they head south or their first stop as they arrive from across the Gulf,” said Mooney.
This bird city is nearly 40 miles away from the bright lights of downtown Corpus Christi.
“If even a quarter of them are distracted by buildings that’s still a really big number and that’s just tonight,” said Jose.
Although Corpus Christi doesn't have an official Light Out Program like other cities Jose says you can still make a difference.
Experts ask everyone to turn off all unneeded lights in their homes from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. during migration season, ending October 4, 2021, and don't use landscaping lighting on trees or gardens where birds may be resting.
The Lights Out campaign is also asking you to turn off unneeded lights again for the spring migration period, which runs from April 23 to May 11, 2022.
You can take a look at live bird migration maps, click here.
