Seeing the light for wildlife
"Shearwater-friendly” lights were installed at the Cape Woolamai and Back Beach Road roundabouts last year.
It was good news for wildlife when “shearwater-friendly” lights were installed at the Cape Woolamai and Back Beach Road roundabouts by Regional Roads Victoria (RRV) last year.
But what exactly is wildlife-friendly lighting?
With the annual Short-tailed Shearwater exodus set to begin in mid-April, Nature Parks research scientist Andre Chiaradia has clarified, after a request from the Phillip Island Conservation Society.
“All artificial lights will cause some harm to nocturnal animals. Some types of lights are more damaging than others,” Andre told PICS.
“So, there is no friendly lights for wildlife but wildlife-sensitive lights.”
Andre said PINP had conducted experiments with lights and their effect on shearwaters and penguins, then given the best light options available on the market to RRV.
He said Phillip Island was used as a case study in the recently published National Light Pollution Guidelines for Seabirds, Seaturtles and Shorebirds.
More than one million Short-tailed Shearwaters call Phillip Island home, and from mid-April to early May, the newest additions to the colony are at risk of being injured or killed on the island’s roads when they attempt to fly for the first time and start their 16,000km journey back to Alaska.
RRV limits speed limits and turns off street lighting including on the Phillip Island bridge, so the chicks do not fly towards the light and end up on the main road.
