Every nine seconds a bird dies from colliding with a building. Birds cannot distinguish between clear airspace and clear or reflective glass barriers. Buildings constructed with high glass reflectivity and transparency can be a lethal illusion to birds. At night, birds are attracted to lighted structures, which result in collisions and entrapment. With this approaching fall migratory season, the UMB Office of Sustainability asks the UMB community to support the Lights Out Baltimore initiative.
UMB buildings tied into our Building Automation Systems (BAS) have been optimized to reduce central lighting between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Buildings that are not in our BAS have lights that need to be turned off manually each day when you leave. If unable to turn off lights, drawing window blinds, shades, drapes, or window coverings will also prevent birds from seeing the artificial light at nighttime.
If you see a dead bird on UMB’s campus or in Baltimore City, report the incident using the Lights Out Baltimore page on iNaturalist. Learn more about this bird strikes awareness campaign at our website. Thank you for making our campus a sustainable place for migratory birds!