The Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) is calling upon residents and businesses throughout the state to join others in turning off bright or excess lighting from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. each day between April 15 and May 31 to help protect the billions of migratory birds that fly through Louisiana at night during this period.
Louisiana sits within the Mississippi Flyway migratory path, with the state’s vast wetlands, forests, and coastline serving as critical stops along the birds’ migration routes. Twice a year, 325 bird species travel the Mississippi Flyway, including 40% of shorebirds.
During the 2023 spring migration, an estimated 450 million birds migrated through the state of Louisiana. The majority of those birds migrate at night and typically start their nightly migration about 30 to 45 minutes post-sunset, with peak flights between 10 and 11 p.m. While the dark skies allow the migratory birds to avoid predators, take advantage of calmer air and utilize the moon and stars for navigation, it also brings with it other dangers such as bright artificial lights and the skyglow from larger cities that can confuse the birds, often causing them to fatally collide into buildings or windows.
