The only street light within half a mile is about 1300 feet away and about 150 feet down even from the backyard. It may have more to do with the neighbors than anything else - on the deck I am next to or above all neighbors with my (darkened) house blocking light from the neighbors up the hill. The closest neighbors have few windows on the side of the house facing me.

It is quite a deck, but the backyard is a couple flights of stairs down from the backdoor which itself is on the bottom floor of the house.