Why do pardelas fall in autumn?

Between late October and early November, fledglings lose their bearings because of artificial light. That was the word at the release in Gáldar on 6 November 2025.

What applies to visitors in the south of Tenerife?

Adeje names 1 to 15 November 2026 as the high-risk period for pardelas. The council (Ayuntamiento) asks businesses and hotels to switch off or dim decorative lighting from 20:00 and to point floodlights downwards.

According to Adeje, the Casa de la Juventud de El Galeón (a youth centre) is a collection point for found birds from 28 October to 30 November 2026. The council has not given opening hours, so ask before you go.

The south of Tenerife has the municipalities with the most finds on the island. The Cabildo (island government) counted 953 rescues in Adeje in 2025 and 730 in Arona.

What should you do if you find a shearwater?

Report injured or stranded birds on the emergency number 112 or to the Cabildo rescue centre. The Cabildo of Fuerteventura advises against releasing a found bird without a vet check.

The authorities say to pick the bird up with gloves and cover it with a towel or clothing. Then put it in a box with air holes in a quiet, cool, shaded place.

Do not give it water or food. Do not tie its wings.

Whether this advice applies unchanged on Gran Canaria is not confirmed. A 2022 report also named CECOPIN, the Policía Local (local police) and the Guardia Civil there.

How many birds fall across the Canaries?

The Cabildo de Tenerife rescued 2,637 fledglings in 2025 and released 2,535 back to sea. The campaign ran from 14 October to 3 December 2025, which is 50 days.

The record came in 2024, with more than 3,445 birds, according to the Cabildo. The 2025 total was roughly 24% lower.

Fuerteventura counted 146 birds in 2025, according to its Cabildo, and 89.04% were recovered and released. There is no 2026 tally for Gran Canaria.

About ten birds were released at the Faro de Sardina (lighthouse) in Gáldar on 6 November 2025. By then about 500 fledglings had been collected in the north of the island.

What are ports and hotels doing about the light?

The Cabildo de Gran Canaria credits dimmed lighting for 75% fewer pardela accidents at the Puerto de Las Nieves in Agaete. Puertos Canarios has reduced harbour lights and ferry lighting, but island councillor Raúl García Brink gave no period or baseline.

Harbour lighting and ferries were already dimmed at times in 2022, and a report of 27 October 2022 says that included Fred Olsen. Four fledglings were found then on Las Canteras beach.

Nobody has yet named an end date for the season on Gran Canaria. On Tenerife the 2025 campaign ran to 3 December and Fuerteventura runs through November in 2026, so rescues will probably go on for some weeks.