September 20, 2023
Lights out
Around Town
COMMUNITY VOICES By Darlene Sowell. Pg. 2 Nov 5-19: The St. Louis Jewish Book Festival. Pg. 3
Features (FLIP)
Recipe, Movie & Sudoku. Pg. F-1 CLASSIFIEDS AND HOME & GARDEN. Pg. F-2 /F-3 Moore On Life, Lifestyle & Crossword Puzzle. Pg. F-4 Submitted photo : An estimated 40% of the nation’s migratory waterfowl use the Mississippi River corridor during their spring and fall migration. The practice of turning off lights at the Gateway Arch at night to protect these birds began in 2002.
Weather
The Gateway Arch has turned off its exterior lights for the month of September to protect birds migrating south for the winter
FRIDAY Cloudy 80/63
By Wendy Todd
SATURDAY Partly Cloudy 81/63
For those who can view the Gateway Arch at night, lately, something has been different. The Arch is unlit as The National Park Service turned off exterior lights for September to protect birds migrating south for the winter. According to the National Park Service, 40% of the nation’s migratory waterfowl use the Mississippi River corridor during their spring and fall migration. The practice of turning off lights at the Gateway Arch at night began in 2002. “One of the main reasons birds migrate during the night is so they can use the positions of the stars and the moon as spatial
references and navigation aids,” said Dan Zarlenga, the media specialist at the Missouri Department of Conservation. “The excess artificial light of our urban environments overwhelms the stars and obscures a critical reference these birds use to find their way. Artificial lights can also cause disorientation that leads the birds to impact with buildings.” Birds also fly at night because it’s cooler, which mitigates the risk of them overheating while flying long distances. Additionally, at night, the atmosphere is more stable with less turbulence, allowing for a steadier course. “The darkness of night probably makes birds safer from predators too,” Zarlenga
added, “so they can concentrate more on traveling instead of getting eaten.” It is estimated that 600 million birds die each year due to nocturnal building collisions caused by disorientation from artificial lights. St. Louis is located on the Mississippi Flyway, one of the largest migratory paths for birds. As a result, St. Louis is ranked as the fifth most dangerous city for migrating birds in the spring and sixth in the fall. “There are many species of birds that navigate during the night,” Zarlenga said. “It is believed that the majority of bird species do so.” See ‘LIGHTS’ page 2
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SUNDAY Partly Cloudy 78/59
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