An island in the Azores turns off its lights for five nights. The shearwaters fly by the stars. (2026)

Vila do Corvo is the only village on the smallest island in the Azores, and it has about 450 residents. 1

For five nights at the end of October, the island council switches off its public lighting. 2

The darkness is the point. The Azores hold an estimated 65 to 75 per cent of the world's breeding population of Cory's shearwater, and the young birds leaving the islands in autumn cannot fly through a lit town. 2

an adult Cory's shearwater, grey-brown with a yellow bill, resting at its nest with the sea behind it — *A Cory's shearwater at its nest. The species spends most of the year over the open Atlantic and comes ashore on island rock to breed. Photograph: Tania Pipa/SPEA 3*

Why the lights matter

A Cory's shearwater chick spends its first three months in a crevice in the rock. 1

When it finally leaves, it goes at night, steering by the stars. 1

Streetlights undo that. The glow pulls the young birds inland, they circle it, and they come down in the streets. 1 The same confusion leaves young birds on roads, where cars hit them. 4

Corvo noticed in 1991, when the number of dead young shearwaters stopped being something anyone could ignore. 1

Islanders started walking the village after dark to pick up the ones still alive. 1

A habit, then a campaign

Azoreans call the bird the cagarro, which is where the campaign's name comes from. 1

In 1995 the regional government carried the idea to the other eight islands. 1 SOS Cagarro has run every year since, from 1 October to 15 November, the weeks when the young birds leave their nests. 4

It works on two fronts: lessons in schools, and field brigades that collect grounded birds and release them the following morning. 4

The campaign's advice to islanders is domestic. Know when the birds are flying, keep clear of nest sites, and report anyone taking chicks for bait or food. 4

Corvo went further. Since 2017 the council has switched off public lighting on the most critical nights. 3

In 2019 the switch-off became a full blackout, five nights each autumn. 1

When SPEA, the Portuguese bird society that runs the blackout with the island council, surveyed 207 islanders, support was unanimous. 3

Boxes and a cliff

At nearly two in the morning, the rescue looks like a doorstep and a cardboard box. 1

Young volunteers sit in the dark with the birds they have found beside them. 1

three young people on a lit doorstep at night with cardboard boxes stacked beside them — *Volunteers at Largo do Outeiro in Vila do Corvo at nearly 2am, with the boxes used to hold recovered shearwaters overnight. Photograph: The Guardian 1*

A bird picked up in the road goes into one of those boxes for the night, to recover. 1

In the morning it is carried to a cliff above the sea and let go, which gives it a second run at the water. 1

The bookkeeping

Underneath the night work is a filing system. 1

Every nest on the island, natural or artificial, is numbered and checked each season, the tiles lifted one at a time. 1

a woman crouching among black lava rocks, lifting a numbered tile over a nest hole — *Tania Pipa, a marine biologist with SPEA, checks a numbered artificial nest on Corvo. She travels from São Miguel every year to do it. Photograph: The Guardian 1*

Cats are the chicks' main predator, so SPEA has put ultrasonic devices around nests to keep them away. 1

Rui Pimentel, the island's forest ranger, spends the season on the same work. 1

What it has banked

Across the Azores, more than 30,000 young shearwaters have been rescued since 2015, about 6,000 of them on Corvo. 1

Some of the birds picked up more than seven years ago have come back to the islands to mate and raise chicks of their own. 4

Where it stops

Corvo is still the only island that turns off all its public lighting. 1

"Locals and authorities have increasingly recognised the impact of light pollution on birds and the importance of an energy efficiency policy to protect these species," SPEA said. 2

Household lights are voluntary, and many people switch them off too. 1

SPEA organised a blackout on Madeira on Thursday, for the same reason. 2

The hope is that other towns and islands follow Corvo. 3

What I keep coming back to is the size of the fix. A town of 450 people did this with a switch, a schedule, and enough people willing to walk the streets at two in the morning with a cardboard box. 1

"To me, the day I don't hear Cory's shearwaters in the Azores, it will certainly not be the Azores," Pipa said. 1

References

1
Lights out: the island that goes dark to save young seabirds – in pictures
theguardian.com
2
Islands Near Portugal Turn Off Lights to Protect Seabird Fledglings Every October – 30k Already Saved
goodnewsnetwork.org
3
Corvo island turns out the lights to protect seabirds
spea.pt
4
The SOS Cagarro Campaign
portal.azores.gov.pt

Vila do Corvo is the only village on the smallest island in the Azores, and it has about 450 residents. 1

For five nights at the end of October, the island council switches off its public lighting. 2

Why the lights matter

A Cory's shearwater chick spends its first three months in a crevice in the rock. 1

When it finally leaves, it goes at night, steering by the stars. 1

Streetlights undo that. The glow pulls the young birds inland, they circle it, and they come down in the streets. 1 The same confusion leaves young birds on roads, where cars hit them. 4

Corvo noticed in 1991, when the number of dead young shearwaters stopped being something anyone could ignore. 1

Islanders started walking the village after dark to pick up the ones still alive. 1

A habit, then a campaign

Azoreans call the bird the cagarro, which is where the campaign's name comes from. 1

In 1995 the regional government carried the idea to the other eight islands. 1 SOS Cagarro has run every year since, from 1 October to 15 November, the weeks when the young birds leave their nests. 4

It works on two fronts: lessons in schools, and field brigades that collect grounded birds and release them the following morning. 4

The campaign's advice to islanders is domestic. Know when the birds are flying, keep clear of nest sites, and report anyone taking chicks for bait or food. 4

Corvo went further. Since 2017 the council has switched off public lighting on the most critical nights. 3

In 2019 the switch-off became a full blackout, five nights each autumn. 1

When SPEA, the Portuguese bird society that runs the blackout with the island council, surveyed 207 islanders, support was unanimous. 3

Boxes and a cliff

At nearly two in the morning, the rescue looks like a doorstep and a cardboard box. 1

Young volunteers sit in the dark with the birds they have found beside them. 1

A bird picked up in the road goes into one of those boxes for the night, to recover. 1

In the morning it is carried to a cliff above the sea and let go, which gives it a second run at the water. 1

The bookkeeping

Underneath the night work is a filing system. 1

Every nest on the island, natural or artificial, is numbered and checked each season, the tiles lifted one at a time. 1

Cats are the chicks' main predator, so SPEA has put ultrasonic devices around nests to keep them away. 1

Rui Pimentel, the island's forest ranger, spends the season on the same work. 1

What it has banked

Across the Azores, more than 30,000 young shearwaters have been rescued since 2015, about 6,000 of them on Corvo. 1

Some of the birds picked up more than seven years ago have come back to the islands to mate and raise chicks of their own. 4

Where it stops

Corvo is still the only island that turns off all its public lighting. 1

"Locals and authorities have increasingly recognised the impact of light pollution on birds and the importance of an energy efficiency policy to protect these species," SPEA said. 2

Household lights are voluntary, and many people switch them off too. 1

SPEA organised a blackout on Madeira on Thursday, for the same reason. 2

The hope is that other towns and islands follow Corvo. 3

What I keep coming back to is the size of the fix. A town of 450 people did this with a switch, a schedule, and enough people willing to walk the streets at two in the morning with a cardboard box. 1

"To me, the day I don't hear Cory's shearwaters in the Azores, it will certainly not be the Azores," Pipa said. 1

References

1
Lights out: the island that goes dark to save young seabirds – in pictures
theguardian.com
2
Islands Near Portugal Turn Off Lights to Protect Seabird Fledglings Every October – 30k Already Saved
goodnewsnetwork.org
3
Corvo island turns out the lights to protect seabirds
spea.pt
4
The SOS Cagarro Campaign
portal.azores.gov.pt

An island in the Azores turns off its lights for five nights. The shearwaters fly by the stars.

Why the lights matter

A habit, then a campaign

Boxes and a cliff

The bookkeeping

What it has banked

Where it stops

References

Related content

An island in the Azores turns off its lights for five nights. The shearwaters fly by the stars.

Why the lights matter

A habit, then a campaign

Boxes and a cliff

The bookkeeping

What it has banked

Where it stops

References

Related content