What should visitors and residents do if they find one?

The Cabildo asks anyone who finds a shearwater on a road, in a lane or on a beach to call 112 at once. This includes dead birds, so the body can be collected and accident black spots can be identified.

The Cabildo advises picking the bird up with a towel or jumper. It belongs in a closed cardboard box with air holes, kept somewhere quiet, cool and shady.

The Cabildo expressly warns against giving the bird food or water. Finders should note the exact spot and wait for instructions from the collection service.

The Cabildo also rejects finders releasing the bird themselves. It needs a vet’s check first.

The Cabildo also asks residents, councils and hotels to switch off or dim unnecessary outdoor lights. This applies especially on the coast until the campaign ends.

Why do young shearwaters end up on roads and squares?

Young shearwaters leave the nest at night for the first time in October and November. Artificial light from roads, villages, hotels and the coast confuses them, the Cabildo explains.

On the ground the birds struggle to take off, because their legs sit far back and their wings are long. Traffic, predators and starvation then threaten them.

The campaign runs in October and November, timed to the young birds’ first night flights. Its start was announced on 9 October 2026.

Rescued birds go to the Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre (wildlife recovery centre) at the Estación Biológica de La Oliva. Healthy birds are ringed and released, while dehydrated or injured ones get veterinary care.

What happened at the release in Puerto Lajas?

More than 30 people watched as the Cabildo returned eight pardelas cenicientas atlánticas and one Paíño boreal to the sea. The spot was near the old windmill (molina) at Puerto Lajas.

Members of the Grupo Ornitológico Alcaidón de Canarias and officers of the Policía Local (local police) of Puerto del Rosario took part, and both help run the shearwater collection service. A talk opened the event, covering habitat, food, life cycle and why young birds lose their way.

The report describes the Paíño boreal as an open-sea species that is rare in Canary waters. It turned up the day before and was added to the release at short notice.

The species breeds on North Atlantic islands and only occasionally passes the Canaries in autumn and winter, on its way to South Africa. The report of 6 November 2026 does not give the exact date of the release.

The event belongs to the project “De vuelta a casa” in the programme “Conocer para Proteger” of the Consejería de Medio Ambiente (the Cabildo’s environment department). Environment councillor Carlos Rodríguez said taking part in a release helps people grasp the value of biodiversity.

How many birds have been rescued, and where?

According to the release reports, about 150 birds have been rescued on Fuerteventura so far. The research found no official total for 2026.

In the 2025 campaign the Cabildo collected 146 birds, and 89.04% were rescued and released. The two figures come from different sources and the 150 is approximate, so a clear comparison is not possible.

La Oliva accounted for 61.6% of the birds collected in 2026, and Puerto del Rosario for 18.5% of the reports. The reports do not make clear whether each percentage refers to birds or to reports.

Across 2025 the Cabildo’s wildlife service was called out 647 times, with 454 animals alive and 193 dead. Shearwaters were the most common species with 183 call-outs, and 244 of the 647 fell in October and November.

By municipality, the Cabildo says La Oliva accounted for 33% of 2025 call-outs, Pájara for 31% and Puerto del Rosario for 20%. This covers all animal species, not only shearwaters.

What does the law say, and who pays?

The shearwater (Calonectris borealis) is on the Spanish list of wild species with special protection and in Annex I of the EU Birds Directive. It is also covered by the Bern Convention.

In late February 2026 the court in Puerto del Rosario fined two men over 3,200 euros each and banned them from hunting for three years. They had killed seven shearwaters in the Jandía natural park, and the Guardia Civil caught them in a September the report does not name.

So far the Cabildo relies on voluntary dimming of lights. The reports show no new rule or fine for lighting.

The Consejería de Medio Ambiente runs the emergency line through its Servicio de Gestión Integral. The Cabildo has given no budget or cost per bird in the reports.

What happens next in the campaign?

The Cabildo plans the campaign until mid or late November but names no fixed end date. No further releases have been announced.

Tenerife recovered 2,637 birds in its 2025 campaign, about 23.5% fewer than in 2024, according to its Cabildo. That Cabildo blames the weather, not fewer birds.

While the campaign runs, one rule applies to everyone on Fuerteventura: report a bird on the ground, do not release it yourself and save outdoor light. Only the Cabildo’s final tally will show whether 2026 call-outs exceed last year’s.