Birds begin their deadly journey through KC

Driving the news: Bird movement is heating up, with 82 million birds taking to the skies across the country, with major concentrations in Missouri, per BirdCast.

Context: Missouri lies within the Mississippi Flyway, one of the heaviest bird migration paths in the world.

• State migration advocates point to a 2019 study that says KC is the seventh deadliest city in the country for birds in the spring.

Zoom in: Bird Safe KC, a volunteer organization that compiles reports of bird deaths as a result of building collisions, found that the T-Mobile Center, the KC Star building and towers around Crown Center have been the most strike-prone locations downtown since 2019.

State of play: 6th District Councilmember Johnathan Duncan will introduce a special action Thursday to recognize April 13–20 as Dark Sky Week, a symbolic resolution that encourages responsible outdoor lighting.

• Dark Sky International says responsible lighting looks like low, warm-colored lights that point down and are used sparingly.

Zoom out: Chicago, which is the deadliest city for birds, launched a Lights Out Campaign in 1995 in which buildings 40 floors and higher opt to turn off their lights from 11pm until sunrise.

Travis' thought bubble: I always like seeing downtown KC lit up, but maybe for Dark Sky Week, it can collectively power down.