Hundreds of thousands of birds are migrating over the Pittsburgh area. Here’s how you can help their journey.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Millions of birds are in the middle of their migrations through western Pennsylvania, and you can play a small part in helping them along on their journeys. 

Peak migration season is typically mid-August to mid-October, and 200 million birds are predicted to migrate across the country on Monday night. 

“Right now is a really important time for bird migration, and in fact, over 719,000 birds flew over Allegheny County just last night. They migrate at night because they use the stars and the moon to help with navigation,” said Rachel Handel, the communications director for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. 

But Handel says light pollution can be a big problem for birds on the move. 

“That could be as big as stadium lights or really as small as keeping a light on in your home late at night. Those lights can distract the birds when they’re flying. That can lead to overexertion, that can lead to them becoming confused.”

Handel says there are ways you can help make their trip a little smoother.

“Simply turn off the lights at night and encourage their neighbors to do it too,” Handel said. 

Their destination? South.

“We are seeing a lot of warblers migrating, and a lot of hummingbirds. They tend to migrate southwards to Mexico, Central America, South America, so they have a long journey ahead of them, and of course there will be stops along the way,” Handel said. 

Handel says leaving out bird seed and nectar for hummingbirds is especially helpful right now as they make pitstops to fuel up.

“The best things we can do is to provide some additional food sources to help them along as they migrate,” Handel said.