Dark Skies

[RenewableCandy]

Burglars hate the dark: it means they can't see what they're doing. They are, after all, human beings, i.e. an animal that never evolved to be nocturnal.

[woodburner]

I used to hear robins at six o'clock in the morning in the winter in Stevenage, so it does not need to be bright. Even now the birds are up and about at 0700 and that's away from street lighting.

The driver for local authorities is usually the morons in society who think that lights should be everywhere, all night. They make questionable claims that it makes for safety and security.

Yes, this was at 2.00 am though, and the sun doesn't come up here until 08.45!

Dark is dark, light is not dark, time is irrelevant.

[Tarrel]

I used to hear robins at six o'clock in the morning in the winter in Stevenage, so it does not need to be bright. Even now the birds are up and about at 0700 and that's away from street lighting.

The driver for local authorities is usually the morons in society who think that lights should be everywhere, all night. They make questionable claims that it makes for safety and security.

Yes, this was at 2.00 am though, and the sun doesn't come up here until 08.45!

Dark is dark, light is not dark, time is irrelevant.

Yes, but they anticipate the dawn. The dawn chorus happens before it actually gets light. So, having them up and about at 7.00 is normal. Having them up at 2.00 is not (unless it's high summer in Scotland, in which case the f**kers never shut up!)

[Tarrel]

This from the RSPB..

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/watchingb ... lsong.aspx

[woodburner]

It starts getting light for some species to detectbefore others. Humans are a bit late, not to mention generally too lazy to get up before the sun.

[RenewableCandy]

So if robins sing and feed all night because of street-lighting, are we going to end up with a lot of obese urban robins ?

[woodburner]

Yes

[Tarrel]

The videographer really could do with an image-stabilised lens.

I doubt a robin would get to that state without some kind of human influence. But I'm amazed it has survived without becoming a tasty morsel for a local cat or bird of prey, given its restricted movement.

[emordnilap]

Of interest for this thread.

[Tarrel]

Of interest for this thread.

When the first one was listed as "Northumberland Park Area, London, England", I assumed they meant somewhere near Northumberland Avenue in the West End, and I thought; "No way, even if they turn off all the lights in the park!" Then I realised they were talking about Kielder Forest. I wonder how a tourist would react if they turned up in London asking to be directed to the "Northumberland Park Area", only to be sent to Kings Cross?

[biffvernon]

King's Cross is a fine starting place for many better things.

[sam_uk]

In Powys they turned off every other street light last year. No apparent ill effects and 50% of the bill.

I don't really understand why we can't fit IR sensors to them. Surely they only need to be on when someone is walking along?

[woodburner]

Frequent switching on and off can reduce the life of some equipment. Getting people to use a torch would solve the problem, and give them their first step in prepping for many.

[Tarrel]

Our sky isn't as free of light pollution as I'd like, but we still get to see plenty of stars. This taken this evening...

[woodburner]

That's an impressive bedstead.