Here’s Why Illinois Officials Ask You To Turn Off Lights, Keep Cats Inside This Week

No it's not the apocalypse, it's spring.

Alerts have been issued, the forecast is on and it's spring. You'd think we're talking about gnarly spring storms, right? Nope.

This week in particular officials in Illinois are asking you to keep non-essential lights off from 11:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. and keep your cats inside as much as you can, especially during those hours.

What's Coming Around At Night This Week

It sounds much spookier, Stephen King-ish than it actually is. Officials are asking you to do all of these things because millions of birds are migrating to the Midwest right now. The migration started Saturday and is expected to continue through tonight (Tuesday). During the spring season, about 313 million birds fly over our area into Wisconsin and into Canada, making a pit stop around here first.

Moline is expected to see more than 27,000 birds per kilometer tonight and Davenport should see more than 28,000 birds per kilometer tonight, according to BirdCast.

Cities across Illinois are calling on residents to turn non-essential lights off tonight to avoid distracting the migrating birds, which can lead to fatal collisions with buildings.

If you own cats (or really any small animal), you're advised to keep them indoors this week too, especially at night, since that's when birds hunt for prey.

The main birds migrating this week include the Yellow Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and the Baltimore Oriole.

Over the course of the week, according to BirdCast, the amount of birds migrating will drop. A medium level is expected for Wednesday with lower numbers later on in the week. Keep an ear out for the birds at night. You will likely hear them.