You Can Help Migratory Birds on Their Journey

Cary is teaming up with the Audubon Society to help prevent bird-window collisions through the Lights Out Project. Known as "bird strikes," these events are a leading cause of bird deaths and occur when birds become confused by artificial lights at night and fly into windows. 

Migrating birds are particularly at-risk for this hazard due to exhaustion and their preference for flying at night, when the risk for predators is lower but the risk for window collisions can be higher.

Spring migration season: March 1 - June 15

Fall Migration season: August 15 - November 30

The good news is there are things we can do to help them on their journey. Join us in taking the following actions at night during the peak fall migratory seasons:

  1. Turn off unnecessary indoor and outdoor lights.
  2. Keep blinds and curtains closed at night.
  3. Remove plants from windowsills. 

Thank you for helping us keep migrating birds safe, as they play an important role in our community’s ecosystem and bring joy to our world!

Cary is a Certified Wildlife Habitat

Cary is the 101st community in the nation that has earned the designation of Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation. To achieve and maintain this honor we work with our citizens, businesses, and organizations to certify their outdoor spaces as Certified Wildlife Habitats. Our Cary Garden for Wildlife Program supports our community in creating a healthy ecosystem by choosing simple steps that provide food, water, cover, and a place for wildlife to raise their young in a healthy habitat.

By participating in this program and certifying your outdoor space, you are playing a vital role in maintaining our community-wide designation and adding to the health and beauty of our community.

2019 Was The Year of The Monarch Butterfly

The Town of Cary proclaimed 2019 as the Year of the Monarch Butterfly. Through community action, education, and outreach, we took the National Wildlife Federation's Mayors' Monarch Pledge, a commitment to increase native habitat and promote pollinator conservation in the Town of Cary. Learn more about how the Mayors' Monarch Pledge is supporting pollinator conservation and education in Cary.

How Can Cary Residents Support Wildlife?

It’s easy! We are asking homeowners, businesses, and community areas like churches, to sign up on the NWF website to commit to easy actions to support wildlife, like birds and pollinators (bees and butterflies), in their area. The actions are simple, like putting up a bird feeder and a bird bath. When you sign up for this certification you are helping Cary show the world that we are a community that supports a healthy environment for our citizens and wildlife. Each individual participant (homeowner, apartment-dweller, school, common area, business, etc.) who plans to get certified will need to register online on the NWF website. The registration is a very simple process and guides you through each step. It has a nominal one-time fee of $20. Click on the “get started” button below to register and look at this brochure that outlines the steps. Getting started is easy.

Program Background

Town Council at its January 28, 2015 meeting, unanimously approved a new and exciting program called the Cary Garden for Wildlife Program in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation's Community Wildlife Habitat Program.

To achieve our initial designation as a Community Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation, a minimum of 300 homes, five schools, and three common areas (like churches) in Cary were certified as wildlife habitats in the summer of 2017. 

Cary’s participation in this program will link the citizens with our Town’s long-standing conservation programs as well as regional resources and will provide recognition to individuals as well as the Town for its conservation efforts.

Find out more at NWF's Website or by reviewing our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document.

Resources

Social Media

We would love to see pictures of your wildlife habitat! Post them to our Cary It Green Facebook Page or post them on Twitter and hashtag them #CaryGFW.

Contact

For more information contact Environmental Outreach Program Coordinator Sarah Justice at 919-469-4301 or sarah.justice@carync.gov.