Azores island turns off lights to protect endangered seabirds
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Loading... - Jacob Bernard
- 25 Oct 2022
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For several days starting next week, the tiny island of Corvo in the Azores will be in self-imposed blackout.
The public lighting system will be turned off from 9pm on Wednesday to 4am the following day until October 30 in a bid to protect the world’s most endangered group of birds (seabirds, in this case the Cory’s Shearwater) and to raise awareness on the hazards of light pollution.
Then on October 31, public lighting will be turned off from 1am every night until November 10.
The initiative – promoted by SPEA, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds, with full support of the local municipality – falls during a “critical period” for these seabirds.
“At this time of year, birds like Cory’s Shearwater are leaving the nest and heading out to sea. To avoid predators they do so at night, but the lights from our towns and cities often blind them. The disoriented birds end up grounded, not only in the Azores, but in Madeira and the Canary Islands”.
The blackout “builds on previous initiatives on Corvo island where authorities have increasingly recognised the impact of light pollution on birds and the importance of an energy efficiency policy to protect these species and reach the desired conservation and sustainable tourism goals”, says SPEA. Read More…
