It’s been an eventful and exciting past few days for the Cahow colony at Nonsuch Island. Jeremy Madeiros, Senior Terrestrial Conservation Officer, confirmed on Saturday that 4 chicks have been born in the past five days, in addition to two brand new Cahow pairs in nests. There are now over two dozen pairs on Nonsuch Island, which is extremely meaningful as there were zero pairs at the Nonsuch Colony just a decade ago.

For the past 8 years, LookBermuda’s Nonsuch Expeditions CahowCam project in conjunction with the Bermuda Government Department of Environment and Natural Resources have been broadcasting live from the underground nesting burrows. For the past 3 seasons, in a new partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, several additional cameras and educational resources have been developed.

The egg seen in CahowCam1 was laid on January 10th, 2020 and was hatched at 11:50PM on February 28, 2020 after 49 days of incubation. On average, Cahow eggs incubate for around 53-55 days. In the video below, the CahowCam captures the egg as it starts pipping.

 

 

On Saturday, February 29th, 2020, Jeremy visited the Cahow colony to perform a health check on both the adult bird and newly hatched chick. During this visit, Mr Madeiros also confirmed that there are a total of four Cahow chicks that have been born this season. He reveals that the adult bird seen in the nest of CahowCam1 as the egg hatched was the father. His mate was not present during the birth. We also learn that the male Cahow has lost about 115 grams since the beginning of the season. Jeremy is pleased to report that the Cahow chick had already been fed by his father and looks very healthy, recording a weight of 54 grams. On average, their hatching weight is around 38-39 grams. Click here to view the full video of the health check.

Since Jeremy’s visit, the CahowCam has shown the male leave to feed, the female return to the nest to meet her chick, as well as both parents allopreening.

 

 

 

It is truly a magical sight.

If you’re interested in following along for any future hatchings or pairings, please see the below links:

Click HERE to view the Live CahowCams.

Click HERE to read the Nonsuch Expeditions Blog.

Click HERE for the Bermuda Cahow Cam Timeline.

Click HERE for the @BermudaCahowCam Live Twitter Feed.