For a few autumn nights on Corvo, street lamps go dark while young seabirds begin their journey to the ocean. The small island in Portugal’s Azores uses a seasonal public-lighting blackout to help fledgling Cory’s shearwaters leave their nesting grounds. Good News Network highlighted the longstanding effort on November 1.
The birds normally head toward the sea at night, when darkness helps them avoid predators. Artificial lighting can draw them toward buildings and roads instead, leaving them disoriented and grounded. Corvo’s municipality works with SPEA, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds, to reduce that danger. During designated nights, public lights are switched off between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. Volunteers also search for stranded birds and help them return to the sea.
The wider rescue effort has accumulated a substantial result: more than 30,000 young shearwaters rescued across the Azores since 2015, according to the November report. That figure covers multiple islands and years, rather than one blackout season. On Corvo, prevention and rescue work together: fewer lights to interrupt a first flight, and people ready to help when a bird still needs assistance.
