Street lights turned off in Madeira. All for the sake of birds
An amazing situation occurred in Madeira, Portugal. On Monday 30 October, all street lights were switched off. All for the sake of migrating birds.
The authorities of Madeira, a Portuguese island in the Atlantic, were concerned for the birds that make their journey towards the small archipelago of the Selvagens Islands (also called Savage Islands). The decision was taken to turn off the street lights so that the animals would have no problem finding the way to their destination.
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They turned off the lights for the sake of the birds
Madeira was in complete darkness for several hours. The street lights only came back on after midnight, local time. This was in order to protect migrating birds, preparing to continue their flight to Savage Islands.
As reported by euractiv.pl, Scopoli's shearwater birds are currently migrating in the area and flying past Madeira. They are heading towards the small archipelago located between Portugal's Madeira and Spain's Canary Islands.
Ornithologists from the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) have persuaded the Madeira authorities to switch off the lights. According to them, the strong artificial light distracts and even blinds the birds, which lose sight of the correct path.
The "Night for Life" campaign was not only about helping birds. It was also about making islanders aware of the importance of the migration period for the welfare of wild birds.
Source: euractiv.pl
