Leach’s storm-petrel visits Bermuda petrel chick

This 25 April 2019 video from Bermuda says about itself:

An unexpected visitor has been stopping by the Bermuda Cahow cam burrow this week. This bird is an adult Leach’s Storm Petrel. Note its size compared to the 46-day-old chick.

So what’s so unusual about this surprise visit? Bermuda is far south of this species’ Atlantic breeding territory, which spans across islands from Norway to Massachusetts. Yet this is the third year in a row that a Leach’s Storm Petrel has visited the cam!

Despite this intrusion into the pitch black burrow, the two birds seem get along, but then an adult cahow arrives to feed its chick! Eventually the birds settle in, and the cahows continue to tolerate their visitor. The cahow chick get a meal, and the adult settles in for a nap.

The storm petrel isn’t as relaxed. It wakes up the adult cahow, but scurries away after a scuffle. After a few hours, the adult cahow leaves for another foraging trip, once again leaving the storm petrel with the chick. Seven hours later, the wayward visitor departs, ending another chapter in the story of the endangered, reclusive Bermuda Cahow.

Both the 2017-2018 cam burrow and the original 2013-2014 burrow are now live! You can toggle between the two using the camera icon in the playhead of the video. Thanks for watching!

The CahowCam is a collaboration between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Nonsuch Expeditions. You can watch the cam live at http://allaboutbirds.org/cahows.