Fairfax County Lights Out for the Spring Bird Migration

Link to Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Meeting 4 March 2025

Go to 4 March 2025 meeting. Board Matter begins at 2:01:42

Supervisor Walkinshaw:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to begin by addressing several board matters. The first is a joint board matter with Supervisor Jimenez, Supervisor Stark, and Supervisor Alcorn.

Billions of birds migrate each year, traveling hundreds of miles between their wintering and breeding grounds. Along the way, they face numerous threats. Scientists have found that most of these birds migrate at night, using the stars to navigate. In Northern Virginia, between 100 and 160 million birds migrate each spring and fall. Unfortunately, the bright lights on tall buildings and sky glow attract them, leading to window collisions and exhaustion from circling illuminated structures. At dawn, these birds face additional urban threats.

North America's migratory bird population has declined by 2.9 billion birds over the past 50 years, a 30% drop. Fairfax County lies along the East Coast flyway, which serves as a superhighway for migrating birds. This makes our actions at the local level critical.

Several organizations, including Nature Forward, the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, and Friends of Huntley Meadows, have partnered with Dark Sky Nova to launch the "Turn Lights Out for Birds" campaign. This campaign, running from March 15th to May 31st, urges residents and businesses to reduce unnecessary nighttime lighting.

Research on a Chicago high-rise found that this simple step reduced bird deaths by 80% while also cutting energy use and costs.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Board of Supervisors support the Northern Virginia Bird Alliances' "Turn Lights Out for Birds" Spring campaign by directing the Office of Public Affairs to promote it before migration season begins on March 15th. Additionally, I move that the county executive identify county facilities where nighttime lighting could be reduced or eliminated during spring migration.

Chairman McKay: I'm happy to second the motion.