Birdlife Malta has reported 17 cases of young Scopoli’s Shearwaters stranded inland due to the effects of light pollution. The organisation is appealing for the authorities to tackle coastal light pollution and to members of the public to report shearwater strandings.

The Scopoli’s Shearwater, Ċiefa in Maltese, is one of four nesting seabirds in Malta. Spending their whole lives at sea and approaching land only at night, these birds nest in Malta’s remote cliffs away from developed areas.

Following their breeding season in summer, young Scopoli’s Shearwaters start venturing out from their cliff nests from late September into October, relying on the safety of darkness to do so.

“Insensitive lighting from coastal development misleads these birds inland, often ending with these birds grounded and unable to make it back to the sea,” it said.