DALLAS — A number of iconic buildings that make up Dallas’ historic skyline will be dimming down their lights until October 10th in an effort to prevent bird deaths during the fall migration.
The initiative is called Lights Out Texas and is spearheaded by the Texas Conservation Alliance, the Perot Museum, the Dallas Zoo, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Former First Lady Laura Bush has even joined the cause and released a PSA through the George W. Bush Presidential Center regarding the number of birds killed needlessly every year due to light pollution.
According to the Dallas Zoo, billions of birds fly through North Texas as they migrate south for the winter.
Many, however, are killed due to disorienting lights around our bright city.
Kari Streiber of the Dallas Zoo said that the lights disorient the birds and confuse them, knocking them off their migrating pattern.
“It causes them to veer off their migration path,” Streiber said. “It lures the birds in, causing them o fly around aimlessly which causes exhaustion.”
Streiber said that the birds often fly into buildings and die.
Nationwide, Cornell University said that as many as 958 million birds have died due to building strikes.
“And a lot of the birds that fly through here on those endangered lists,” Streiber said.
So from now until October 10th, Reunion Tower, One Arts Plaza, KPMG Plaza, the Hunt Building, and 1900 Pearl will dim their lights from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Streiber said that is the timeframe where bird migration is highest.
For Reunion Tower President Dusti Groskreutz, this will be a first.
Her tower is normally lit up to celebrate or bring awareness to good causes. For a change, she’s dimming the ball to help out.
“We’re going to take our light output from 75 percent to 25 percent,” Groskreutz said. “It’s a first for all of us, I’m eager to see what it looks like. Texans love nature and this is the right thing for the ball to do.”