Lights out for the cagarras: helping Madeira's young shearwaters reach the sea

If you're in Madeira this week and you hear something strange in the dark, a wailing, almost laughing call over the sea, that's a cagarra. Most of us grew up with that sound at the end of summer. Right now the young ones are leaving their nests for the first time, and some of them won't make it to the sea because of us. Not because of anything dramatic, just our lights.

The good news: this is one of the easiest nature problems to help with, and you can do it from your hotel balcony.

What's happening right now

These are the facts from the official sources. My own take comes further down.

• The cagarra is Cory's shearwater (Calonectris borealis), a seabird that spends most of its life on the open ocean and comes to land only to breed. IFCN (Instituto das Florestas e Conservação da Natureza, the regional forest and nature agency) lists the Ilhas Desertas, the uninhabited islands you can see south-east of Madeira, as one of its important nesting places.
• The chicks are fledging now. SPEA-BirdLife (the Portuguese bird conservation society) says that from mid-October the young cagarras, only a few months old, leave their nests and make their first flight out to sea. Its season for cagarras runs from 15 October to 15 November.
• Lights pull them down. On that first night flight, artificial light can disorient them and draw them into towns. SPEA says many fall onto streets, pavements and next to buildings, where they risk being run over or caught by predators. IFCN explains why: their eyes are adapted to see at night, so street lights, car headlights and house lights dazzle them, especially on dark nights. Once on the ground, many can't take off again by themselves.
• Hundreds of birds each year. SPEA's LIFE Natura@night project, co-funded by the EU, says hundreds of juvenile cagarras leave their nests every October, and that the problem is worst on new-moon nights. The next new moon in Funchal is on 9 November.
• People go out looking for them. From 23 October to 5 November, SPEA's night brigades walk the streets between Câmara de Lobos and São Jorge, picking up grounded birds so they can be released by the sea. Since the project started in 2022, 388 volunteers have taken part.

The lights-out night: 30 October

On 30 October, from 8 pm to 11 pm, SPEA is asking everyone in Madeira and Porto Santo to switch off unnecessary outdoor lights for a Mega Apagão (a big blackout). According to SPEA, the municipalities of Funchal, Santa Cruz, Câmara de Lobos and Machico, some hotels and Madeira Airport have said they will join by dimming outdoor lighting.

Three hours is symbolic. SPEA's real ask is bigger: between 15 October and 15 November, switch off outdoor lights or use fewer of them, every night.

If you find a grounded seabird

This is the part I'd really like you to remember. IFCN and SPEA give the same simple steps:

1. Call the Rede SOS Vida Selvagem (IFCN's wildlife rescue network) on 961 957 545 and say where and when you found the bird. If you can't get through, IFCN says to call the GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana, the national police) on 291 214 460, or take the bird to the nearest fire station.
2. Approach slowly. If you feel safe doing it, cover the bird with a towel, cloth or jacket. Covering its head calms it. Mind the beak.
3. Put it in a cardboard box that fits its size, with small holes so it can breathe.
4. Don't give it water, food or medicine.
5. Never try to make it fly, and don't throw it off a wall or into the sea.

A grounded cagarra isn't necessarily hurt. Often it just needs a dark, quiet box and a lift to the coast from people who know what they're doing.

What this has to do with hiking

Cagarras aren't the only seabirds that nest on land here. Up in the mountains, the freira-da-madeira (Zino's petrel) nests only in Madeira, on steep ledges above 1,600 m in the eastern central massif, the area around Pico do Areeiro where PR 1 starts. The IFCN-led LIFE Pterodromas project puts the population at just 65 to 80 pairs. Its chicks fly out to sea until October, and SPEA's lights-out appeal for the freira was in September.

The same project lists the threats plainly: the 2010 fire destroyed 80% of active nests; rats and cats still kill birds almost every year; and tourism at Areeiro is growing. Someone walking on a nesting ledge destroyed a nest and killed a chick in 2019, and the project notes that head torches at night can disturb adults flying in to their nests. A regional ordinance, Portaria 564/2025 of 8 October 2025, sets extra conservation measures for the nesting area.

If you've ever been at Areeiro for sunrise, you'll know how many lights come up that road in the dark. I'm not saying don't go. I'm saying go gently.

Good-guest tips for the next few weeks

• Switch off what you don't need. Balcony, terrace, garden and pool lights at your rental or hotel, every night until 15 November, and especially on 30 October from 8 pm to 11 pm.
• Close the curtains if your room faces the sea.
• Drive slowly on coastal roads at night and watch for a dark bird sitting on the tarmac.
• Save the number: 961 957 545. It costs nothing to have it in your phone.
• On early or night hikes near Areeiro, stay on the paved path, keep your head torch pointed at your feet, and never step onto the grassy ledges for a photo.
• Want to do more? SPEA's rescue brigades are open to anyone, with no experience needed, and include training and insurance. Sign up through SPEA's online form.

Quick answers

When is the Mega Apagão? 30 October 2026, from 8 pm to 11 pm, according to SPEA-BirdLife.

What number do I call for a grounded seabird? IFCN's Rede SOS Vida Selvagem, 961 957 545. If you can't get through, the GNR on 291 214 460 or the nearest fire station.

How long does the cagarra season last? SPEA gives 15 October to 15 November.

We ask a lot of this island when we come to walk it. For a few weeks each autumn, the island asks something small back: turn the lights down, and give the young birds a dark sky to find the sea.