While pop icon Rhianna may want her lights to be extra bright, birds don’t!

Twice each year, millions of birds pass through Connecticut on their way to and from their nesting grounds. Because our state is located on the Atlantic Flyway, many birds use our shorelines and green spaces to rest and refuel during their trip. Some stay for the summer. Most migratory birds pass over our state at night, when temperatures are cooler, and skies are less turbulent. However, artificial lights attract and disorient birds, leading to collisions with buildings. The result is catastrophic: Almost 1 billion birds are killed in the United States every year.

Craig Repasz serves on the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) Conservation Committee. He has served as past president for the New Haven Bird Club and is currently their Outdoor Program Chair. He has been the volunteer coordinator for the Connecticut Bird Atlas for five years. He is also the President of the Friends of Stewart B McKinney NWR, an organization devoted to supporting this important refuge. He enjoys backpacking and conducts Mountain Birdwatch surveys for the Vermont Center of Ecostudies, focusing on the Bicknell’s Thrush and other high elevation species.

Join Craig Repasz, co-chair of the Lights Out Connecticut initiative that is supported by the Connecticut Ornithological Association, in learning more about this issue and how you can support this highly important initiative.

• Fee: $10/participant
• Suitable for ages 13+
• Pre-paid online reservations available, but cash and check payments also accepted onsite.
• Call 860-364-0520 (ext 115) or email Bethany at bethany.sheffer@audubon.org with questions.