'Kill the Light, Save a Bird'

New York City's tallest buildings have agreed to dim their lights at night during September and October, the fall migratory season, to diminish the frequency of birds crashing into the skyscrapers.

In April and May, the peak of the spring migratory season, the same policy will apply.

In the photo above, the Chrysler Building is seen at left at 11 p.m. this past Wednesday, and then again an hour later after its lights had been turned down to aid birds.

About five million birds pass through Gotham on their way to points north and south every fall and spring.

Ornithologist Daniel Klem of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsyvania told Jennifer 8. Lee of the New York Times, in a story that appeared Friday, that "birds just don't see glass."

He said that conservative estimates are that 100 million birds a year die from crashing into glass on structures of all types, including houses.

Birds are attracted to lights at night and either crash into buildings or circle them until they become exhausted.

Toronto began a program of dimming its lights in 1993 and Chicago followed in 1999, resulting in an 80% reduction in bird deaths near one building studied over a five year period.

Here's a link to the Times story.