These beautiful photos capture how a remote island community safely shepherds its rare seabirds to the ocean.
The Azores hosts three-quarters of the global population of Cory鈥檚 shearwaters, which nest in burrows and clifftops around the Atlantic archipelago. Chicks stay in their nests all spring and summer until they have grown big enough to attempt their first flight, seen in the image above.
Once ready, the young birds take flight by night to avoid predators, using the moon and stars to navigate to the ocean. But it isn鈥檛 just predators these birds should be wary of, photographer Andrea Zanenga discovered when he visited Corvo. The tiny Portuguese island has just 430 human inhabitants, but is home to the world鈥檚 largest colony of Cory鈥檚 shearwaters.
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During their fledging window in late October and early November, the young shearwaters are easily confused by artificial lights. The seabirds can鈥檛 take off from ground level, so if they crash, they remain stuck on the ground, vulnerable to attack or starvation.
鈥淭hese are young birds, 3 months old, and most of them are doing their first flight,鈥� says T芒nia Pipa, a marine biologist at the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds.
鈥淭hey get lost. If you have a point with light pollution, they see it as guidance and go to that place, and get disorientated.鈥� On the worst nights, Corvo residents might find dozens of stranded birds on the streets of the island鈥檚 only settlement, Vila do Corvo.
An Azores-wide campaign known as SOS Cagarro was launched in 1995 to rescue fallen shearwaters. Volunteers join night walks to spot stranded birds and place them in artificial nests (above).
The birds are released the following day from nearby clifftops.
But the residents of Corvo have gone one better. For five nights during the peak fledging season, all public lighting in Vila do Corvo is switched off from 9pm until midnight to help the birds navigate safely out to the ocean.
Corvo is the only island in the Azores to operate such a self-imposed blackout, leaving it free of light pollution. 鈥淲hen you see this sky with a lot of stars, you feel a little bit smaller,鈥� says Zanenga.
