Doing something good for the world doesn’t have to be hard or expensive or burdensome.

Sometimes it’s as simple as flipping a light switch!

Building and window strikes kill literally 1+ billion birds a year just in the U.S. (source 1)—possibly as many as 5 billion birds (source 2).

• These photos show a female Common Yellowthroat that was injured after flying into a building downtown today, 10/5/2026. (Photo credit/finder's credit: @Khandawg666)
• One of my colleagues rushed her to Shively for treatment.
• Within the next 20 min., my other colleague and I found EIGHT (8) more dead migratory birds—6 warblers and 2 sapsuckers.
• All were killed either this AM or this afternoon following a building/window collision.
• This was only within a 1-block radius, and only outside 2 buildings—we'd probably have found more dead birds if we had more time to look.

💡 & 🪟 = 💀 Building/window collisions happen year-round, but they peak during spring and fall migration …

• … often at dawn and dusk—because artificial light at night is a major factor in many of these fatalities (source 3) …
• … but today's events show they also happen during the day—reflective glass is a huge issue for birds because they can't perceive glass as a solid surface.
• 🍁 Peak fall migration months in Kentuckiana are September and October.

🐦 You can help save birds during migration seasons—right now!—just by taking a few simple steps.

Some recommendations from Lights Out Louisville—a local conservation program working to make migration safer for birds—are as easy (and free!) as:

• turning off lights when you leave a room
• turning off any nonessential lights, indoors and out, including decorative outdoor lights
• pulling your window coverings (blinds, shades, curtains) after dark to prevent daytime glass collisions
• to prevent daytime glass collisions: leaving blinds open but not pulled up, or leaving curtains closed/mostly closed versus drawn
  • (see-through curtains still let in light, but if you don’t have those … maybe not every room needs full sunlight all day during migration seasons—especially if you're not home?)

You can view all of Lights Out Louisville's recommendations for both nonresidential buildings and residential homes here:

• Link: https://www.lightsoutlouisville.org/go-lights-out/

  📣 You can also take 1 min to join our program for $0 by filling out one of the digital forms on that page.

• Any resident or nonresidential organization (business, nonprofit, etc.) in KY or IN can enroll—just by pledging to do what you can to make migration safer for birds.

• Our residential form asks only for your ZIP code, name, and email (with ability to opt out of email).

• We track participation and residential program participation by ZIP (source 4), with ~1,200 enrolled residential homes in KY & IN.

📈 This critical data allows us to show policymakers and building operators that lots of people care about this issue, and helps Lights Out Louisville enact real change, including:

• 26 non-residential organizations that have pledged to do what they can to reduce light pollution to prevent bird-building collisions (source 5), including the Frazier Kentucky History Museum (source 6)
• a partnership with Louisville Metro Government (source 7), with LMG Fleets & Facilities, LFPL branches, and Parks & Rec buildings all enrolled
• 4 Metro Council members sponsoring or co-sponsoring a proposed resolution (source 8)—now on the Oct. 8 Parks & Sustainability Committee agenda (source 9)—to encourage greater participation across both public and private sectors

^ this is the critical first step toward enforceable legislation, such as updates to lighting ordinances or building codes to make them more bird-friendly.

Thank you all for ANYTHING you can do to help save birds by reducing/preventing building/window collisions! (And please DM me or comment if you have any questions!)

Sources:

• 1: https://abcbirds.org/news/bird-building-collisions-study-2024/
• 2: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1676/23-00045
• 3: https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2026/Spring/Conservation/Bird-Strikes-At-Home
• 4: https://www.lightsoutlouisville.org/participating-residences/
• 5: https://www.lightsoutlouisville.org/about/#our-supporters
• 6: https://www.fraziermuseum.org/weekly/9-14-2026/#anne-proffitt
• 7: https://louisvilleky.gov/news/mayor-craig-greenberg-announces-partnership-lights-out-louisville-reduce-light-pollution-and
• 8: https://louisville.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=15869245&GUID=D6AEF488-F202-4EAB-85A8-9E7EBDB4BFD1
• 9: https://legistar2.granicus.com/louisville/meetings/2026/10/11302_A_Parks_and_Sustainability_Committee_26-10-08_Meeting_Agenda.pdf