Bermuda Cahow Cam Timeline

Review the main events, including nesting cycle milestones and other noteworthy incidents, in this historical timeline of the Bermuda Cahow cam.

Jump To Season Timeline:

2020
2019
2018
2017

The female returned from her time at sea to lay an egg in the CahowCam2 burrow on January 18. Watch the incredible moments when she reunites with her mate in the nest and lays the egg in this play-by-play from our partners at Nonsuch Expeditions.

Big news from Bermuda! The female Bermuda Petrel (aka “Cahow”) returned to the Cahow Cam 1 nest burrow in around 2:00 AM on January 10th, and barely an hour later settled in to lay her egg. The male was waiting for her when she arrived and the pair spent an hour preening and making adjustments to the nest prior to the egg’s arrival.

At around midnight on November 5, the second adult arrived to reunite with its mate in the Cahow cam 2 burrow, signaling the commencement of the 2020 breeding season for this pair. The weeks to come will be abound with courting, mating, and allopreening before the birds head back out to sea in December.

The cahows from Cahow cam 1 are back for their November courtship period! Watch the pair nestle up in front of the cam to spend some time together. This reunion in the nesting burrow won’t last for long. Both adults will head back out to sea near the start of December before the female ultimately returns to lay a single egg in early January.

Under the cover of night, Cahow Cam 2 star “Cedar” fledged from its nesting burrow on Nonsuch Island, Bermuda after practicing a few wing flaps. Following a 90-day nestling period, this young seabird has set out over the Atlantic Ocean, where it will spend the next 4–6 years before returning to Bermuda in search of a mate. Good luck out there, Cedar!

During the Bermuda Cahow’s last health check by biologist Jeremy Madeiros, the young bird received a uniquely numbered bird band on its leg and a new name inspired by Bermuda’s national tree. The chick should be fledging in the next 1-2 weeks, so be sure to tune in and watch its last days in the burrow!  

Join Bermuda Cahow expert Jeremy Madeiros as he explains why the original Cahow cam pair’s unsuccessful breeding season could be a blessing in disguise for the petrels that have raised a chick each of the past 5 years.

It’s official! The cahow chick in the Cahow cam 2 nesting burrow hatched on March 9 after 51 days of incubation. After conducting a health check on the hatchling on March 10, Senior Terrestrial Conservation Officer Jeremy Madeiros reports that the chick is looking healthy. Watch highlights of the first few hours after hatch. 

The new cam features a top-down view of a nesting burrow located adjacent to the Cahow cam’s original site. The breeding pair is currently nearing the tail-end of the incubation period that started when an egg was laid on Jan 18.

At day 55 of incubation, the window of viability for this cahow egg is closing fast (eggs typically take between 51 to 55 days to hatch). In a recent nest check on March 4, Bermuda Cahow expert Jeremy Madeiros noted no signs of hatching and was not able to glean any information by candling the egg. Across the whole cahow population, >40% of eggs laid don’t hatch.

After a month at sea, the female Bermuda Petrel returned the nesting burrow on Nonsuch Island, Bermuda to lay the pair’s single egg! Watch the highlights and learn what to watch for in the coming days.

After spending months foraging over the Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda Petrels once again returned to their breeding grounds on Nonsuch Island, Bermuda, on October 26, 2018, for a short, one-month period in which they will court, copulate, and spend time with one another in the nesting burrow.

Watch one of the world’s rarest seabirds transform from fluffball to fledgling in this highlight clip of the 2018 Bermuda Cahow cam season.

After spending much of the day wandering back and forth through the nesting tunnel, “Sunny” the cahow chick left the nesting burrow at around 10:00 P.M. on May 28 and likely has fledged from Nonsuch Island, Bermuda! Check out these highlights from Sunny’s last visit after 87 days in the nest burrow.

Take a trip to Nonsuch Island, Bermuda and watch the 2018 Cahow cam chick get named by a special guest during its 1-month health check! Thanks to our partners at Nonsuch Expeditions – Bermuda for giving us a tour of this remote breeding site of the Bermuda Petrel.

The Bermuda Petrel chick fully hatched on the morning of March 2! Get the first look at the peeping hatchling—still wet and fresh out of the egg—as the adult female tends to her new arrival. According to cahow expert Jeremy Madeiros, the on-cam chick is the 6th cahow chick to hatch on Nonsuch Island, Bermuda so far during the 2018 breeding season!

In the early morning hours of January 12, 2018, the Bermuda Cahow female returned to its nesting burrow on Bermuda’s Nonsuch Island for the first time since November and laid a single egg, which will be the nesting pair’s central focus for the next five months! Watch highlights of the female’s arrival as she makes final touches on the nest, lays her egg, and settles in for a long incubation bout.

After spending months foraging over the Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda Petrels have returned to Nonsuch Island, Bermuda, to court, copulate, and spend time with one another in the nesting burrow. The cam pair’s return signals the onset of the breeding season. Breeding pairs typically return to Nonsuch Island every year in early November to court and mate before venturing back out to sea for most of December.

Go back inside the Bermuda Petrel nesting burrow and relive all of the highlights from the 2017 Cahow cam season. Watch “Shadow,” the cam star cahow chick, hatch from the egg and grow from fluffball to fledgling on Nonsuch Island, Bermuda.

After over 3 months in the nesting burrow, the Bermuda Petrel chick successfully fledged at about 11 PM on June 5, 2017! The young bird made a grand exit, taking about 25 minutes to tousle up the nest before finally leaving for good. The chick will take wing over the Atlantic Ocean as it learns to fly and survive on its own; he will spend 3 to 6 years alone at sea before returning to the breeding grounds in Bermuda to find a mate and start a nest.

The 2017 Cahow cam chick receives a health check from Jeremy Madeiros and is named by a special guest. Thanks to our partners at Nonsuch Expeditions for this look outside the burrow!

Take a peek at the cahow chick shortly after it fully hatches from its egg in the Cahow cam nesting burrow on March 2, 2017. This clip shows the chick during a short stint alone in the burrow after the adult takes a trip out of the nest entrance. In a few hours, the chick’s wet down would dry, giving the young bird a fluffy, ball-shaped appearance.

On January 11, 2017 the female (banded E0197) returned to the same nesting burrow she has used for the last 6 years. Within an hour or so of arriving, she laid a single egg that will be the singular focus of the pair’s efforts for the next 5-6 months.