Island turns off lights to save seabirds
Residents of Portugal's Corvo island switched off lights for five nights to help young seabirds find their way to the ocean safely.
In 1991, locals noticed many young birds died after getting confused by bright streetlights during their first flight attempts. These desperate juveniles often crashed into narrow village streets instead of finding the water they needed for survival.
In 1995, the government started a rescue campaign that later included other islands and received help from the bird study group. Dedicated volunteers now work late at night to find disoriented chicks and place them in boxes to recover.
Marine biologist Tania Pipa travels yearly to check nests and believes hearing these birds again is essential for the future. She says without these sounds, the place would certainly not feel like the Azores anymore to anyone visiting.
More than thirty thousand fledglings have been saved across the archipelago since 2015, with about six thousand rescued on this island. This collective effort shows how reducing light pollution can significantly restore ecological balance and help biodiversity thrive.
“To me, the day I don't hear Cory's shearwaters in the Azores, it will certainly not be the Azores”