Madeira to switch off lights for one night to save seabird

The Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) is organising a scheduled blackout in Madeira on 27 September to protect the Madeira petrel (freira-da-madeira), a threatened seabird found only in the region. Artificial lighting can disorient young petrels during their first flights out to sea, causing them to crash or become stranded. The initiative aims to reduce this risk during the species' fledging period.