March 15, 2006 — Animal rights groups pleaded Thursday with Toronto office and apartment building owners to dim their lights at night to reduce the staggering number of bird deaths due to collisions with lit skyscrapers.

To make their point, Toronto Wildlife Center and the Fatal Light Awareness Program set up a gruesome display at the Royal Ontario Museum of some 2,000 birds lured to their deaths by the bright lights of Canada's largest city.

The 89 species scraped off downtown Toronto sidewalks during the 2005 migratory season included blue jays, sparrows, woodpeckers, pigeons, hummingbirds and chickadees.

"There are so many advantages to turning off the lights, not just for the birds. People would save millions of dollars in energy costs, lower pollution emissions,and maybe enjoy a starry night," said Fatal Light Awareness Program executive director Michael Mesure.

Thousands of birds die in collisions each year in Toronto, he estimates. Others pegged the number of deaths in North America at 97 million.

Some fly headlong into windows, crushing their skulls. Others circle until they drop from exhaustion or crash into other birds drawn to the same lights.

Toronto is considering a novel law to force tower developers to reduce dangers to fowl.

"Most people probably haven't thought about this problem because janitors have swept away all the dead birds by the time they get to work in the morning, but it's a growing concern," said councilor Glenn De Baeremaeker who introduced the motion.

The new guidelines expected in mid-2006 would encourage the use of bird-friendly glass, restrict outdoor "vanity" lighting and require more light switches, he said.

In many older buildings, a single switch controls all the lights, making it impossible to dim individual offices or floors if someone is working late.