Abilene State Park encourages community to protect birds during migration

FILE – Two bird watchers photograph thousands of snow geese at the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area on March 24, 2017, outside Fairfield, Mont.…

FILE – Two bird watchers photograph thousands of snow geese at the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area on March 24, 2017, outside Fairfield, Mont. A new online atlas of bird migration, published on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, draws from an unprecedented number of scientific and community data sources to illustrate the routes of about 450 bird species in the Americas. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)/

by: Shelly Womack

Posted: Oct 8, 2022 / 06:19 PM CDT

Updated: Oct 8, 2022 / 06:20 PM CDT

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – In honor of National Migratory Bird Day, Abilene State Park wants to remind the community to participate in the ‘Lights Out Texas’ movement.

‘Lights Out Texas’ is a state-wide effort made in spring 2020 to reduce the amount of light pollution during bird migration. Each year, it is estimated that nearly two billion birds cross over Texas. In the United States, around one billion birds die annually from crashing into structures.

One way to lower deaths is by turning off non-essential lights from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. each day. This time each day is the peak of the migration and reducing light pollution prevents birds from being thrown off course, according to a Facebook post from Abilene State Park.

Full migration started August 15 and will come to an end on November 30. Go to Travis Audubon website to learn more ways to protect birds.