What happened in this Energy story?

Corvo Island in the Azores shuts off public lighting annually during autumn to protect fledgling Cory’s shearwaters as they navigate by starlight to the ocean.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Corvo Island** turns off its public lighting for several key days each autumn to prevent fledgling Cory’s shearwaters from becoming disoriented by artificial light

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Cory’s shearwaters** fledge annually on Corvo Island, relying on starlight to guide their first flight from inland nests to the open ocean

Corvo Island blacks out to save fledgling seabirds — SkimNews

By The Guardian Environment · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-25

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Corvo Island turns off its public lighting for several key days each autumn to prevent fledgling Cory’s shearwaters from becoming disoriented by artificial light
Cory’s shearwaters fledge annually on Corvo Island, relying on starlight to guide their first flight from inland nests to the open ocean
Azores archipelago hosts this conservation effort on Corvo, the smallest and most northerly island in the Portuguese island chain
Public lighting shutdown has been implemented every year since 2019 as a targeted intervention during the seabirds’ critical migration window

Why it matters: The annual blackout directly increases fledgling survival by reducing light-induced grounding, a growing threat to seabirds worldwide. For Corvo, a small island with limited infrastructure, this low-cost, community-led measure delivers outsized ecological impact by protecting a native species during a vulnerable life stage.