Spring migration starts on February 15 — with more than 250 species of birds moving through the Bay Area! You can help them complete their long journeys safely by joining our Lights Out for Birds campaign.

Bright lights tend to draw birds off their nighttime migratory paths. They often end up colliding with buildings or circling the lights endlessly until exhausted. But you can help… by making sure building lights are off from dusk until dawn between February 15 and May 30.

• Employees: Turn out lights in your workplace at night, especially if you work in a tall building or one with extensive glass windows. If you need to work late, use task lighting rather than overhead lighting, or draw the blinds.

• Building owners and managers: Turn off non-essential lights such as exterior architectural lighting. Inside, consider installing motion sensors or timers to keep lights off as much as possible at night. Not only will you save the lives of birds, but you’ll save energy and money. PG&E offers rebates to companies that want to install these devices.

Help spread the word! We have Fact Sheets, posters and sample social media messages you can download and share. We can even point you to an online Lighting Cost calculator to help estimate how much money and energy you’ll save by turning lights out.

Visit the Lights Out for Birds page of our web site for more information.

Thanks to our partners at the San Francisco Department of the Environment and PG&E for supporting Lights Out and our Bay Area bird populations!

Thanks to designer Leslie Laurien for creation of the Lights Out logo.

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