It’s that time of year again when the chicks of one of Malta’s breeding seabirds – the Yelkouan Shearwater (Garnija) – are leaving their nests to head out for the open sea, under the cover of darkness. However, this first journey for these birds can be dangerous. Light pollution from our towns and villages causes many young birds on their first flight to sea to become grounded on land. As we do every year at the start of summer, we are calling on the public to help rescue these birds. Without the public’s assistance, they will never get back to the sea again. Light pollution is only one of the many difficulties these elusive seabirds face. Our ongoing LIFE PanPuffinus! project is focusing on two other main threats this threatened seabird species faces; namely accidental bycatch in fishing gear and predation by invasive species. Read more in the we’ve just issued!