(WFRV) – Wisconsin residents are being asked to turn off outdoor lights Wednesday night, September 24, to help protect millions of birds flying across the state.

A press release from Save Our Songbirds, a conservation group, say “white-hot levels” of bird migration are expected with an estimated 21 million birds traveling through Wisconsin overnight. The statewide Lights Out Alert urges homes, businesses, and municipalities to switch off nonessential outdoor lighting from 11 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The release states that most birds migrate at night, and flow from lights can disorient them, drawing them into urban areas where they face greater risks, especially from window collisions.

“Twenty-one million birds will be migrating through Wisconsin overnight Sept. 24 and scientists have issued a Lights Out Alert for nearly all of our state,” says Craig Thompson, a co-founder of Driftless Birds, a nonprofit working to save birds in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. “We ask everyone to help save our birds by turning out nonessential outside lights.”  

Studies show collision with glass kill billions of birds each year in the U.S. and are one reason nearly 3 billion birds have disappeared from North America since 1960.

The Alerts are issued by Purdue University’s AeroEco Lab, which uses radar and forecasting tools to track migration. Along with the statewide alert for September 24, smaller alrts are in place for eastern Wisconsin on September 23 and for eastern and northern parts of the state on September 25.

Bird groups across Wisconsin are also encouraging residents to reduce light pollution and make homes safer by treating windows with screens, decals, or parachute-cord curtains that help birds recognize glass.

Turning off nonessential lights not only helps protect wildlife, advocates say, but also helps save energy, reduce costs, and preserves the night sky.