The young of the Great Shearwater are born between mid-October and mid-November (Calonectris borealis) abandon the hura – the nests in caves or ravines – to launch themselves on their first flight towards the sea. Once airborne, they will live more than four years away from the coast until they begin their return to land in February. The first two years, to inspect the land and choose house. Then, to mate. To do this, they will always look for the same partner. The calf will be born in July and the cycle will begin again.
“This is how it has worked for millions of years,” explains Jaime Rosas, president of the Nature to the Rescue association. But this bird currently faces numerous threats, such as destruction of the habitat in which it breeds, predators such as cats, dogs and rats, interaction with fishing and plastic in the sea. And light pollution. “We changed everything,” he says.
The lights are particularly serious. Shearwater chicks take their first flight alone. They choose the night to avoid predators and use the moon to orient themselves. “They jump into the ravine looking for the sea”, explains Pascual Calabuig, director of the Tafira Wildlife Recovery Center (CRFS), “but what they find are street lamps, cables, roads… and many lights: they are dazzled, they have accidents, they fall to the ground”. Many die when hit. For this reason, at the beginning of autumn, administrations and volunteers moved with one objective: to save minors who fall to the ground and, above all, to bring about social change so that “we illuminate only what needs to be illuminated”, according to environmental educator Marta Tapia.
The Canary Shearwater lives on the seven islands (and in the Azores and Madeira), but mainly on the islets (especially in Alegranza). It is included in the list of wild species under special protection regime and in the Red Book as vulnerable. This bird is striking for several reasons: for its size – approximately 125 centimeters in wingspan and more than half a meter in length; its longevity – more than 30 years –; its resistance – it travels 30,000 to 50,000 kilometers a year, pushed by the wind –; or for its part: it is silent in the open sea, but noisy on land, where it emits nasal sounds similar to the crying of a child.
Among all his attributes, however, his loyalty stands out. Not only do they show a tendency to return to the same area where they were born (natal philopatry), but they also exhibit strict monogamy. Their song is jarring, but romantic, Calabuig says: it’s key to identifying with the reunion after months of travel.
Because they spend the year flying, “but in February he feels the need to return to the cave and mate”. They will leave from Namibia, where they spent the winter. They will first cross Argentina and then head towards the Canary Islands. “Couples do not recognize each other at sea, but only in the breeding area”, explains the veterinarian and biologist. “They travel for love and driven by the wind. And when they arrive it is surprising, because they recognize themselves in the cave and the experience is brutal. Love in its purest form.”
This fidelity goes further: the female lays a single egg, but a large one. And after spawning he takes a 10-15 day holiday, which he will spend resting in an area of Mauritania where fish abound. “And all this time the males remain incubating the egg. This is an example!” says Calabuig.
After laying, the female takes a ten-day holiday in Mauritania. The males not only do not leave the cave, but they remain all the time to incubate the egg. This is an example!”
Pascual Calabuig, biologist and veterinarian
«This is the Telegram channel where the reports that come to us from the Cecopin (Insular Operational Coordination Centers) are centralized», explains Eva Cancelo, a Naturaleza al Rescate volunteer, pointing to the screen of her mobile phone in a car park on the motorway in the north of Gran Canaria. It’s after 8pm on a weekday, and she and a dozen other people have just started their shifts, waiting for a warning. “We will not allow any of these incidents to go unsolved.”
There is also office work. Vicente Díaz Melián, a port employee and veteran activist, displays street signs in his terminal fighting for his approval. “It’s very difficult,” he complains, “there’s a lot of bureaucracy, but in the meantime we use it to warn motorists to be extremely careful.”
13 kilometers away, the players of a football team from Barrial (municipality of Gáldar) have just alerted Jaime Rosas of the fall of a shearwater on the field, confused by the power of its lights. She was found attached to a wall. “She’s terrified,” he says. “On land they cannot fly because they have very long wings and webbed feet. They are perfect for perching on the sea, but on land they cannot walk well.” Rosas places the shearwater in a ventilated box and will take it to CRFS that same night. There they will treat him and free him again as soon as possible from a ravine or cliff.
Shortly thereafter, Rosas receives another alert in Agaete, in the northwest corner of the island. In that port town, two specimens were spotted in a flowerbed. “The mayor says he controls the lights,” complains Matías Ramón Martín, the neighbor who raised the alarm. “That’s a lie. We are becoming more and more enlightened.”
Controlling the lighting is, in fact, the real effort of veterinarian and environmental educator Marta Tapia, also a member of Naturaleza al Rescate. In recent months he has multiplied together with Eva Cancelo to give conferences in companies and social clubs. In them he reveals “the dark side of the light”. “It’s a pollutant, so we should only use as much as necessary,” he warns. “We need to ask ourselves what we should light, how much, when and how. And not over-light.” The effects of excessive lighting are not only felt by shearwaters: they are evident in both human health and biodiversity, in the balance of nocturnal ecosystems and in the decline of insects. “A night without light pollution is just as important as clean water, soil or air.”
Little by little, the message is getting through. On these dates some administrations agree to reduce lighting in sensitive areas. Ships of the Fred Olsen shipping company enter Agaete with their lights off, and the Port Authority and several companies in the affected areas have agreed to limit lighting. “The other years I managed to catch 60 shearwaters in one night. Now there are only half or a dozen,” admits Rosas. “Citizens already know what to do if they find a stray wild animal,” concludes Calabuig. “And the shearwater was the jewel in the crown that made us aware.”
