After almost a decade spreading the word about the problem of light pollution and launching different actions to eradicate it, SEO/BirdLife begins in the Canary Islands a new campaign to collect seabirds, mainly Cory’s Shearwater chicks, dazzled by the effect of this threat, which It affects other species and also humans. Until November 15, the organization carries out this campaign, within the Life Natura@night project.
The campaign takes place on these dates, which is when the juvenile Cory’s Shearwaters leave their nests and undertake their first flights towards the sea. On this journey from land they will encounter glare caused by artificial light, with a greater incidence on full moon days. Once on the ground, exotic species such as cats often prey on these defenseless specimens.
«This campaign to collect dazzled birds – says Yarci Acosta, SEO/BirdLife delegate in the Canary Islands – could not be carried out without the collaboration of dozens of volunteers who, selflessly, dedicate their time to preventing glare from preventing to the shearwaters to take the first trip of their lives. They still have thousands of kilometers to travel and countless threats to face until they reach sexual maturity to return to the Canary Islands to reproduce. Since we are the ones who generate the light pollution that disorients them, this is the least we can do.
Life Natura@night Project
The Life Natura@Night project, ‘For a night with more life’, was launched in 2022 by the Spanish Society of Ornithology (SEO/BirdLife), the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) and the Technological Institute of Canary Islands (ITC), who since then and for a period of four years have been working together with SPEA Madeira (BirdLife in Portugal) in research and citizen outreach actions to map and reduce light pollution in the Macaronesian archipelagos. It is also about working with local authorities and communities to reduce this type of pollution, thereby promoting more efficient and sustainable lighting.
The project, coordinated by the SPEA, takes place in 27 protected areas of Macaronesia of the Natura 2000 network, with 150,000 hectares threatened by the loss of biodiversity due to the impact of artificial night light, and aims to protect endemic species of birds, bats and insects that are harmed by artificial night light.
In addition to the ten species of seabirds that nest in these archipelagos, nine taxa of native bats and hundreds of moths are also affected.
A volunteerism that creates year after year
The number of people who voluntarily participate in the campaign grows year after year, which implies that awareness of this threat grows among citizens. In last year’s rescue campaign, on the island of Tenerife, more than 3,200 specimens were collected. Most of them could be returned to the natural environment.
Ways to collaborate:
-Support group for the collection of specimens that fall in the Tenerife municipalities of Santa Cruz, La Laguna, El Rosario, Güímar, Arafo and Candelaria. This collection will be coordinated by the local group SEO-Tenerife, within the framework of the Life Natura@night project in support of the La Tahonilla Fauna Recovery Center (CRF) of the Cabildo de Tenerife and will take place from October 21 to 15 November, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
-Night tours along specific stretches of the coastline of the aforementioned municipalities to locate and rescue possible injured seabirds.
– ‘Scientific brigades’: tours of a coastal sector twice a night from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m., from October 30 to November 8, specifically in the municipalities of Buenavista del Norte (Tenerife) and Mogán (Gran Canary).
People who collaborate in any of the three forms of volunteering are given training, and are offered insurance, rescue funds and a certificate of their participation.
#night #alive
