This is bird note.

As the sun sets over New York City,

author Helen McDonald makes her way to the top of the Empire State Building.

Not to view the sprawling

metropolis but to take in the wonders of spring migration from an incredible

vantage point high up in the open sky.

McDonald writes in her collection of essays,

Vespar Flights, that for every large bird I see,

30 or more songbirds pass over.

They're very small, watching their passage is almost too moving to bear. They

resemble stars, embers, slow tracer fire. But her joy is dampened when she notices some of the birds circling endlessly around the

building's brilliant beacon.

These birds have been attracted to it, she writes.

Pulled off course, their exquisite machinery overwhelmed by light,

leaving them confused and inconsiderable danger.

After being mesmerized in this way, some birds drag themselves free and continue their journey.

Others don't.

Turning off the blaring lights of city skylines and even suburban homes can help protect migratory birds at night.

For resources on how to reduce light pollution and forecast bird migration in your region,

start at our website,

Birdnote.org.

I'm Ariana Rimmel.

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