The Lights Out Columbus spring migration monitoring program that launched on March 15 concluded May 30, with more than 672 hours logged by 57 volunteers on city streets in the downtown corridor.
According to Stormy Gibson, director of education and Lights Out Columbus project director, 35 species of birds, including two different kinds of bats, were documented by volunteers who collected injured birds for transport to the Wildlife Hospital for care.
Seven days a week, teams of staff and volunteers walked key survey areas each morning from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. to document injuries and transfer the birds for medical treatment. Injured birds received an exam, supportive care and nutrition at the Wildlife Hospital to recover from window strikes and exhaustion. Volunteers became a familiar sight this spring to downtown office commuters with their bright vests, red backpacks and nets.
The Lights Out Columbus Program received pilot funding from the Columbus Zoo Conservation Fund to save Neotropical migratory birds from disorienting city lights during the spring and fall migration. The spring season brings Neotropical migrant birds through Columbus as they travel north from overwintering locations.
Most of the birds treated recovered in 24 hours, Gibson said, and they were later released to continue migrating north. Due to the nutrition needs of the birds, the hospital provided high-quality diets as well tailored to each species.
The highest number of species collected were Oven birds, White-throated sparrows, Gray Catbirds, Tennessee Warblers, Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, and Song Sparrows.
In addition to the bird rescues, the volunteers documented and mapped out the locations with the highest window strikes and bird fatalities, Gibson noted. This information is being shared with a national and international database to better understand the urban threats to migration and how to mediate them, she added.
Collisions with buildings from disorienting lights and large expanses of reflective glass are a leading cause of bird fatality and up to half a billion birds are estimated to die each year in North America from building collisions, particularly during migrations, she noted. The North and West facing sides of buildings correlated with the highest number of bird strikes.
The monitoring effort this spring also included partnerships with building and business owners in downtown Columbus who are participating by reducing their light emissions at night at 39 building sites. These partners have been key to help minimize bird strikes, Gibson noted.
“This has been a truly comprehensive initiative with many invested volunteers and businesses who all share the goals to save songbirds and generate effective methods to reduce bird injuries and deaths,” Gibson said. “Every new piece of data is useful for both the wildlife and the building owners.”
The fall migration Lights Out Columbus Project will begin again in mid-August, with volunteers again monitoring downtown Columbus for injured birds as they travel to Southern wintering grounds.
Volunteers are welcome to join the fall season project and may contact the volunteer coordinator, Kate Tullos, at educationsupport@ohiowildlifecenter.org or call 614-407-7833. Information is also available at www.ohiowildlifecenter.org and https://ohiolightsout.org/
