Feature: Central China county goes lights out for migrating birds

CHANGSHA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lanshan, a small county in central China's Hunan Province with a population of 430,000, is a central flyway frequented by millions of migratory birds on their annual journey southward.

The county's initiative to encourage businesses, commercial buildings and the public to reduce the unnecessary use of lights to help create a safe passage for the migratory birds has earned praise from wildlife conservationists.

Since September this year, more than 2,500 streetlights installed at a height of over 15 meters in the county have gone out after 9:00 p.m. Owners of commercial high rises have also been asked to turn off non-essential nighttime lighting for several weeks.

Most migrating birds fly at night, taking the help of stars, moonlight, etc. to navigate their trajectory. Previous studies have shown that artificial lighting can disorient birds and cause them to collide with buildings, especially in cloudy or rainy weather.

This was evident from an occurrence in September last year in the county. The local urban management bureau got several phone calls from residents who noticed a swarm of birds hovering over the lights in a local public square.

After due consultation with experts, it was concluded that the square lights had distracted the birds, with the continuous rain exacerbating the visibility.

The incident prompted the county government to turn off six high-mast lights at the public square, and the move proved to be helpful. The stranded birds started flapping their wings and eventually soared to the sky.

Three days later, the county expanded this lights-out strategy. "Some residents initially thought it's inconvenient as the public square went dark at night," recalled Shi Yulin, deputy director of the county's urban management bureau. "After we explained that turning off lights was meant to help wayward birds migrate safely, people became supportive."

"Dimming lights may lead guests to think we are out of business," said Lei Zhan, an owner of a local hotel in Lanshan, adding that he, however, did not hesitate to switch the lights off after learning that the hotel's decorative lights may pose a threat to bird migration.

The "lights out" initiative has helped the small county win media coverage. Besides, many birders and birding societies have taken to social media to show their support for Lanshan.

Things however weren't always this rosy. In ancient times, hunting migratory birds was seen as a tradition in Lanshan. Even in modern days, bird hunting was a lucrative business in the county's rural areas.

Since the Chinese government imposed a ban on hunting and sale of wild birds, local officials have striven to clean up the bad practice.

"Initially, there was some reluctance from the locals as capturing and trading birds was their source of income," said Tang Shengli, a birder from Lanshan and a volunteer with a local wildlife protection group.

In 2013, volunteers, together with government officials and police, established a bird protection network. They carried out joint patrols in villages, pulled down illegal nets and helped many villagers become bird conservators from hunters by employing them to monitor and report hunting activities.

"We educated people on the importance of protecting birds because they are an integral part of nature and an indicator of environmental health," Tang said.

Locals are now busy setting up bird watching stations to attract tourists, which they believe could bring both economic and environmental benefits.

Scientists are also happy about the lights-out initiative. Although there has been no scientific consensus on whether city lights could be a threat to bird migration, dimming lights to help birds safely migrate is "an action worth a thumb up," said Zhao Xinru, a zoologist at Beijing Normal University and a member of the China Ornithological Society.

Zhao noted that more scientific studies and data are needed to obtain evidence on the existence of this issue. He believes that there may be other solutions instead of turning off the lights to protect migratory birds.

"Birds are smart. They can adapt to environmental changes too," Zhao said.