Photometrics AI has integrated real-time bird migration data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s BirdCast platform into its street-lighting optimization system to automatically dim lights during peak migration events and reduce fatal bird collisions with buildings. The collaboration aims to turn what has often been episodic “lights out” campaigns into an ongoing, automated operational capability for cities.
BirdCast is a collaborative project among the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Purdue University, the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst that uses weather surveillance radar, meteorological data, and machine learning to monitor nocturnal bird migration. It produces nightly forecasts of migration intensity up to three days in advance for the period starting about three hours after local sunset, and visualizes key parameters such as intensity, flight direction, speed, altitude, and seasonal timing on an online dashboard. These forecasts also generate alerts when migration intensity reaches significant levels, flagging nights of particularly high collision risk.
Photometrics AI’s platform can ingest BirdCast’s forecast and alert data and then automatically adjust streetlighting patterns when heavy migration is predicted. The system is designed to maintain safety by keeping main roads, crosswalks, and other high-traffic areas adequately illuminated, while dimming lighting levels in residential neighborhoods and open spaces where bright light is less critical. Because more than half of annual nocturnal bird migration over the contiguous United States occurs on only about 10% of nights, this targeted, event-based dimming strategy can deliver high conservation impact with minimal disruption to human activity. The greatest benefits occur late at night and in the early morning, when birds are flying at lower altitudes and human need for bright lighting is lowest.
The scale and urgency of the problem is significant. More than 1 billion birds die each year in the United States from collisions with buildings and windows, with bright city lights acting as a key driver by disorienting migrating birds and drawing them into built environments. Collisions occur across a wide range of structures, including homes, campuses, skyscrapers, greenhouses, and glass-enclosed bus stops. Research shows that night skies are growing brighter by nearly 10% annually, meaning that for many people—and therefore for birds—the night sky is now roughly twice as bright as it was eight years ago, intensifying sensory conflicts for birds and reducing the visibility of stars they use for orientation.
Light pollution interferes with both birds’ sensory systems and their ability to see stellar cues, making nocturnal migration significantly more dangerous for many species. The reduction of conflicts between artificial lighting and birds’ sensory and navigational needs is a clear conservation win whenever it can be achieved. Dimming streetlights in underused areas at appropriate times substantially benefits birds while having almost no negative effect on people, enabling communities to use lighting more effectively while sharing urban spaces with other species.
Photometrics AI develops software that uses GIS-based “Target Lighting Layers” and AI analytics to set optimal operating parameters for each luminaire, balancing energy savings with compliance to lighting standards, while BirdCast provides the migration forecasts and near real-time movement data that inform conservation action. Together, the systems create a dynamic, automated way for cities to respond to peak migration events and reduce bird mortality without sacrificing public safety or core lighting performance.
More information is available here.
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