Fuglahjálp

REPORT A BIRD

Found a lost fledgling seabird?

Every year, in late summer and autumn, young seabirds leave their nests for the first time. In darkness or fog, they can become attracted to bright artificial lights and end up in villages, harbours, on roads or in gardens, where they often struggle to take off again and find their way back to the sea.

Some may be hit by cars, caught by cats or die from exhaustion. If you find one, you can help.

 

Which birds should I look out for?

Three seabird species are particularly known to become disoriented by artificial light when leaving their nests:

  • Puffin: chicks generally leave their nests from late July to early September.
  • Manx Shearwater: most chicks leave during September, particularly around the middle of the month.
  • European Storm Petrel: chicks generally leave from early or mid-October until late November.

See the images below if you are unsure what these species look like.

 

What to do if you find a bird

  1. Approach the bird slowly.
  2. If it does not fly away, gently pick it up and place it in a well-ventilated cardboard box. You may want to wear gloves when handling a Puffin or Manx Shearwater chick.
  3. Keep the bird somewhere quiet and dark. For a young burrow-nesting seabird, the dark box provides an environment similar to the safety of its nest.
  4. At dusk, take the bird to a suitable place close to the sea, away from towns and strong light sources. If you cannot safely keep the bird until dusk, it is acceptable to release it near the sea earlier.
  5. Place the bird on the ground above the shoreline and allow it to leave when it is ready.

 

What not to do

  • Do not attempt to handle the bird if you are unsure how to do so safely.
  • Do not hold the bird by its wings or allow its wings to spread while you are holding it.
  • Do not give the bird water, food or medicine.
  • Do not throw the bird into the air or towards the sea. Allow it to leave by itself when it is ready.

 

Report the bird

Please report every bird you find using the recording form here.

We would particularly like to know:

  • where the bird was found
  • the date and approximate time
  • which species it was, if known
  • how many birds were found
  • what happened to the bird

Please also take a photograph of the bird and, where possible, the nearby light sources.

Even a single observation provides valuable information.

[Button called: REPORT A BIRD] (LINK TO FORM: https://arcg.is/01TGnC0)

 

REPORT A BIRD

 

Why are seabirds attracted to artificial light?

Some seabirds are particularly vulnerable to artificial light because of the way they live and breed.

European Storm Petrels and Manx Shearwaters are adapted to darkness and generally return to their breeding colonies at night, helping them avoid predators. Puffins are active during the day but breed underground in burrows, where their chicks develop in darkness.

When young birds leave their nests for the first time, they normally head towards the sea under the cover of darkness. Artificial lights from towns, villages, roads, harbours and other infrastructure can attract or disorient them.

Instead of reaching the sea, birds may fly towards lights or become grounded in built-up areas. Once on the ground, they can be vulnerable to vehicles, cats and other predators, or die from exhaustion.

 

Why does this matter in the Faroe Islands?

The Faroe Islands are internationally important for breeding seabirds, including European Storm Petrels, Puffins, Great Skuas and Fulmars. The Faroe Islands support an estimated 250,000 breeding pairs of European Storm Petrels, making them one of the most important breeding areas for the species globally with Nólsoy supporting one of the world’s largest known colonies of the species (BirdLife International 2015).

Seabirds are also among the most rapidly declining groups of birds globally. In the Faroe Islands, Puffin populations, for example, have declined dramatically over the past century, and many islands now support only a fraction of their former numbers.

Seabirds face numerous pressures, including changes in food availability, bycatch in fisheries, pollution, invasive predators such as rats and cats, and climate change. Artificial light at night represents an additional pressure, but we currently know very little about its impact on seabirds in the Faroe Islands.

 

Researching seabird fallout in the Faroe Islands

We still don’t know how many seabirds are affected by artificial light in the Faroe Islands each year, where the main problem areas are, or how this varies between species and throughout the fledging season.

Ben Porter, a PhD researcher at Cardiff University in Wales, is investigating how artificial light affects seabirds in the Faroe Islands. The research is funded by Granskingarráðið, with the Faroese Environment Agency (Umhvørvisstovan) contributing to the supervision of the PhD.

An important part of the research is therefore to document when and where seabirds become disoriented and end up on land or in built-up areas.

By reporting the birds you find, you are helping to build the first clearer picture of the scale and distribution of this issue in the Faroe Islands.

The observation data collected through the project will be made publicly available for research and conservation purposes. Personal and contact information will not be included in the publicly available dataset.

 

What else can I do to help?

In addition to reporting a lost bird (click to access link to the Survey form):

  • Keep watch for stranded young seabirds during the main fledging periods.
  • Share the reporting form so that other observations are recorded.
  • Reduce unnecessary artificial light, particularly strong outdoor lighting, during the fledging season.

The more observations we receive, the better we can understand where and when seabirds are being affected.

 

Find out more

If you would like to learn more about the research, contact Ben Porter at PorterBJ2@cardiff.ac.uk.

If you would like to learn more about Ben Porter and his research, you can find more information on his website and watch his presentation from Researchers’ Night 2025 on Kringvarp Føroya

PICTURES TO INCLUDE:

  • Picture of Ben Porter
  • Two or three photos of birds found and pictures of light pollution in the Faroe Islands
  • Must include pictures of baby: Puffin, Stormpetrel, Manx Shearwater