Threatened Bermuda petrels of Nonsuch Island

This 14 October 2019 video from Bermuda says about itself:

Nonsuch Island: An Oasis For The Bermuda Cahow

Once thought to be extinct for over 300 years, the Bermuda Petrel or “cahow” is one of the world’s most endangered seabirds. In 1951, seven pairs were rediscovered nesting secretly in deep rock crevices on islets near Bermuda’s Castle Harbour. This recluse population was clinging to life after Bermuda’s colonization eradicated the cahows from the main islands.

In 1960, David Wingate started the Cahow Recovery Program, aiming to protect and repopulate Bermuda’s national bird. Over the years, hurricanes threatened many of the natural nesting cavities located on the surrounding small islets, and Nonsuch Island was chosen as a future sanctuary for a new cahow breeding population.

From 2004 – 2008, Wingate’s successor Jeremy Madeiros translocated 102 Cahow chicks from the original eroding islets to Nonsuch. These were hand-fed and allowed to imprint on their new home before they fledged out to sea. This technique proved successful and after several years at sea, almost half of the now mature Cahows returned to inhabit the artificial nesting burrows built at the translocation site on Nonsuch. Since the first chick “Somers” was produced by returned translocated Cahows in 2009, a total of 79 fledged chicks have been produced by the new Nonsuch colony by 2019.

To this day, Madeiros manages the entire cahow population, monitoring each nest from egg to fledge. Thanks to these efforts, dozens of cahows now fledge from the new colonies on Nonsuch Island each year. Across their range, the cahow breeding population has increased to a record 131 pairs producing 73 chicks in 2019.

Continue to follow the recovery of the world’s most storied seabird live on the Bermuda Cahow cam. The Cahow cam is a collaboration between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Nonsuch Expeditions. You can watch the cam live here; and learn more about Nonsuch Island’s environs (including the cahow) here.