More than a million birds die yearly from crashing into tall buildings.
It is no longer a problem with high-rises in downtown Toronto, bird deaths occur in Etobicoke and in many places nightly.
Toronto City Council has voted in favour of turning off all lights at City buildings at night to save money and birds from being killed.
The City said many birds are killed by the unnecessary lights on City property during the bird migration season.
The City has voted to turn off lights at its buildings to prevent the death of birds.
The Fatal Light Awareness Program Canada group has documented, artificial light from buildings and cityscapes endangers birds, especially during migration season, City council was told.
“Many species of birds migrate at night, using light from the moon, the stars, and the setting sun to navigate,” according to a report. “The bright lights of urban areas confuse these birds and pull them out of their way.”
The group said on foggy or rainy nights when the cloud cover is low, birds fly at lower altitudes and are more likely to be disoriented by city lights.
The birds are affected by lit buildings at night or fog or cloudy conditions.
“They may be pulled down into downtown mazes, where they often collide with buildings,” they said. “Also dangerous are floodlights, lighthouses, and airport ceilometers (light beams for measuring cloud altitude).”
“Once birds are attracted to a light source, they tend not to leave it, and may become trapped until they die.”
The said the City used to have a program to turn off lights in its buildings at night during migration seasons, in order to reduce energy costs and reduce bird deaths.
“This program has fallen into disuse,” Council said. “Corporate Real Estate Management agrees that it should be resumed.”
Bird deaths are a serious problem in Toronto and surrounding areas with tall towers.
The group estimates that one million to nine million birds die every year from impact with buildings in the Toronto area. The group’s founder once single-handedly recovered about 500 dead birds in one morning.