Lights Out Baltimore was formed by a group of concerned birdwatchers in the Baltimore Bird Club who had seen firsthand the toll lights and windows play on birds.  Our goal is to make Charm City safe for migratory birds by turning out decorative lighting in the city during peak migration seasons, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and to advocate for bird-safe building design that makes glass and windows visible to birds. 

Every spring and fall migratory songbirds and waterfowl make a perilous journey of thousands of miles to their wintering or breeding grounds.  They migrate at night as we sleep by using the constellations as their guide.  This journey poses many risks:  bad weather, man-made structures, predators, loss of stopover feeding grounds, and light pollution. 

Lights from cities often attract birds into an unfamiliar, inhospitable urban environment.  Once entrapped, these birds frequently injure themselves by striking buildings or glass, or succumb to exhaustion after fluttering around in light they cannot seem to escape from.  Injured birds are left to fend for themselves blind in one or both eyes or unable to use their legs.  Birds that survive the night face threats like predatory rats and seagulls, shock, starvation, and street cleaning equipment.