13 WINTER TEXAN TIMES www.wintertexantimes.com OCTOBER 23, 2024 2407 E. Griffin Pkwy. – Mission, TX GENERAL DENTISTRY EXCEPTIONAL CARE SINCE 1982 Now Accepting Cigna Medicare Advantage New Patient Exams only $159 • Includes all necessary x-rays • Oral Cancer Screening • Intra-oral Photos • Comprehensive Exam • Periodontal Screening No Dental Insurance? NO PROBLEM! www.sharylanddentalcare.net 956-581-2773 For dental care you can trust and have confidence in Come See Us At Sharyland Dental Care wages, materials and storage cabinetry,” Prestridge said. “A tax-deductible donation can be made to our account with the Texas A&M Foundation.” Lights Out, Texas! remains a dedicated leader to educating and informing the public on everyday strategies that help prevent unnecessary migratory bird loss. By keeping non-essential lights off, treating glass where collisions occur, and designing buildings to be bird friendly from the beginning, Prestridge said Texans can help reduce window strikes and normalize awareness and support for billions of migratory birds. For the story with full links, visit https://agrilifetoday.tamu. edu/2024/09/12/three-ways-toprotect-migratory-birds-this-fall/. Lights Out, Texas! Has other ways to help if you visit their link in the story. Three ways to protect migratory birds this fall For Texans, saving millions of migratory birds could be as simple as flipping a switch. Each year, nearly two billion birds migrate through the Lone Star State. Many of the migratory species use the night sky as a tool to navigate through the state and back to their homes and breeding grounds. However, nighttime light pollution has become a growing challenge for many birds, leading to high rates of building strikes and migratory bird deaths. Lights Out, Texas! is an initiative focused on reducing bird losses to building strikes by enlisting the help of Texans. Heather Prestridge, a curator in the Texas A&M Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology at the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections, BRTC, shared three keyways you can help birds during the southern migration window this fall. No. 1: Turn off unnecessary lights Birds are attracted to urban centers as they make their migratory flights at night, but they become disoriented by the lights. “What’s important is to understand that non-essential lighting has a negative impact on wildlife year-round,” Prestridge said. “Lights Out, Texas! began as a campaign for making sure Texans flip the switch during peak bird migration in the spring and fall, but in reality, we should be practicing Lights Out year-round.” No. 2: Consider treating your windows According to a study in Annual Reviews, an estimated one billion birds are lost to collisions with buildings. One of the key causes is birds’ inability to detect glass. “Often, glass is reflective of the trees and sky around it which lures birds to collide with buildings,” Prestridge said. There are a variety of options to help mitigate this issue, such as patterned glass and film that aides in making these surfaces more bird friendly. No. 3: Donate to the Collection of Birds at BRTC The Collection of Birds at the BRTC serves as the repository for all the birds found during Lights Out, Texas! collision surveys. These specimens amount to thousands of birds per year that are carefully documented and utilized for a variety of research purposes, not just migratory bird fatalities. Philanthropic donations to BRTC will help support bird categorization and the preservation of research for scientists and students who access the collection. “Funds are needed for student Migratory species traveling long distances face the most challenges, especially when traveling over or near large cities where light pollution is most common. Photo courtesy of Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife. Lights Out, Texas! is an initiative that seeks to enlist Texans to curb bird losses to building strikes during spring and fall migrations. Photo courtesy of Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife.
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