Islands Near Portugal Turn Off Lights to Protect Seabird Fledglings Every October – 30k Already Saved.
Residents of Corvo, the smallest island in Portugal's Azores, switch off public lighting for five nights each autumn so fledgling Cory's shearwaters can find the ocean, with campaign volunteers rescuing birds that land in the village.
Corvo, the smallest and most northerly island in Portugal's Azores archipelago, turns off its public lighting for five nights every autumn to help young Cory's shearwaters reach the sea, according to a Guardian photo feature. The island has about 450 residents, and the blackout has been held annually since 2019.
The practice grew out of a problem the community noticed in 1991, when large numbers of fledglings were dying. The young birds spend three months in their nests before a first flight to the ocean, which they navigate by the stars. Many are confused by the glow of streetlights and crash into the narrow streets of Vila do Corvo, the island's only village.
Residents began searching the village at night to rescue grounded birds. Other communities followed, and in 1995 the Azorean government launched a campaign called "SOS Cagarro" to cover the other eight islands. The Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) later joined and helped the project grow.
During the blackout, people walk through the village looking for fallen birds. Rescued birds spend the night in cardboard boxes to recover and are released the next day from a cliff near the ocean. Households are not required to turn off their own lights, though the feature says many choose to, and security lights stay on. The article says Corvo is still the only island that carries out a full blackout of public lighting.
The campaign says more than 30,000 Cory's shearwater fledglings have been rescued in the Azores since 2015, about 6,000 of them on Corvo. SPEA staff also check natural and artificial nests on the island and have installed ultrasonic devices around nests to deter cats, the main predators of chicks. Marine biologist Tania Pipa, who travels from São Miguel each year, said: "The day I don't hear Cory's shearwaters in the Azores, it will certainly not be the Azores."
Note: The headline refers to islands and October, but the page describes only Corvo doing a full public blackout, for five nights each autumn. The 30,000 figure is birds rescued across the Azores since 2015 (about 6,000 on Corvo), not birds confirmed saved.
At a Glance
- Corvo has about 450 residents and has switched off public lighting for five nights each autumn since 2019.
- The effort began in 1991, and the Azorean government launched the "SOS Cagarro" campaign across the other eight islands in 1995.
- The campaign reports more than 30,000 shearwater fledglings rescued across the Azores since 2015, about 6,000 on Corvo.
- Rescued birds are kept in cardboard boxes overnight and released the next day from a cliff near the ocean.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.