Lights Out, Texas!

The City of Grand Prairie is a proud partner of Lights Out, Texas! On November 19, 2024, Mayor Ron Jensen signed the Lights Out Proclamation acknowledging the importance of creating a darker night sky for migratory birds thus proclaiming Grand Prairie to be a Lights Out City.

What is Lights Out? 

Lights Out is a national campaign of education, awareness, and action that focuses on protecting the billions of migratory birds traveling through Texas each fall and spring by encouraging the public to turn lights off at night. The goal of this program is for a darker night sky for birds to safely migrate through.

Importance

Texas is globally important for birds as approximately two billion birds pass through Texas during spring and fall migration. Many birds in North America travel at night but lights from cities can disorient birds which can cause them to collide with buildings or windows. Many become vulnerable to other threats as they waste energy flying around in confusion. It is estimated that one billion U.S. bird deaths occur annually from collisions with buildings and structures.

The Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex is the 3rd most dangerous area in the United States for migratory birds to travel through.

Ways to Participate

• Turn off all non-essential nighttime lighting on buildings and other structures from 11:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. each night.

• Down-shield exterior lighting to eliminate horizontal glare and all light directed upward.

• Install automatic motion sensor and controls wherever possible.

• When converting to new lighting, assess quality and quantity of light needed, avoiding over-lighting with new, brighter technology.

• Close blinds at night to reduce the amount of light being emitted from windows.

Participate During Migration

• Spring Migration 

• Full migration: March 1 – June 15 

• Peak migration: April 19 – May 7 

• Fall Migration 

• Full migration: August 15 – November 30 

• Peak migration: September 5 – October 29