Lights out: the island that goes dark to save young seabirds – in pictures

After three months in the nest, young Cory’s shearwaters on Corvo are ready to take wing Every autumn, Corvo Island in the Azores turns off its public lighting for a few key days to help fledgling Cory’s shearwaters as they attempt to fly to the ocean guided D Zanenga Once a year, Corvo, the smallest and most northerly island of Portugal’s Azores archipelago, goes dark. Since 2019, the island’s 450 or so inhabitants have chosen to switch off the lights every autumn for five nights to tackle the disastrous effects of artificial light on Cory’s shearwaters, a seabird endemic to the Atlantic Ocean. It began in 1991 when the community noticed huge numbers of deaths among young shearwaters. The juveniles spend three months in their nests before attempting their first flight to the ocean, orienting themselves . View image in fullscreen A newborn Cory’s shearwater chick Unfortunately, many are fatally confused , and end up crashing into Vila do Corvo’s narrow streets. Local people began rescuing them at night, roaming through the village in the dark. This inspired other communities, and in 1995, the Azorean government launched the “SOS Cagarro” [shearwaters] campaign to include the other eight islands. In subsequent years, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) joined the project, helping it grow. View image in fullscreen At nearly 2am, dedicated young volunteers remain engaged in their work, helping with the recovered birds View image in fullscreen View image in fullscreen View image in fullscreen View image in fullscreen Leonardo Xavier is one of the young volunteers who helps to capture the disoriented birds around the village, top left. Top right, the webbed foot of a Cory’s shearwater. Rui Pimentel, left, is Corvo’s forest ranger, and on the frontline of Cory’s shearwater conservation. Cats, right, are the main predators of Cory’s shearwater chicks. The SPEA team has installed ultrasonic devices around nests to deter attacks I discovered the initiative on my second trip to Corvo, in June 2024. I knew of the Cory’s shearwater because I had travelled to the Azores before and had the chance to observe them in the open sea. But it was not until I saw a campaign sticker in a shop on the island that I found out about the blackout. When it was explained to me, I decided to come back and document it. The bird that changed Ecuador: how a chance discovery of a rare species helped to save many more To me, the message of this story is that there is always hope, especially when we involve future generations and teach them to care about our planet and its beauty.