13 Cahow Chicks Hatched At Nonsuch
A total of 13 cahow chicks have been hatched on Nonsuch Island already this year.
Jeremy Madeiros, Bermuda’s senior terrestrial conservation officer, believes 25 or more chicks could be hatched this year, which would eclipse the previous record of 19 last year.
In the latest update on the Nonsuch Expeditions Blog, Mr Madeiros said he had been unable to visit the island since February 23 – the peak of the cahow-egg hatching period – after testing positive for Covid-19.
He has, however, received an update from Peter Drew, the assistant conservation officer and visiting researcher Letizia Campioni, who visited the island on Monday [March 4].
“A total of 13 cahow chicks were confirmed as already having hatched on Nonsuch; ten at the A colony, and three at the more recently established B colony,” Mr Madeiros wrote.
“A total of seven eggs were ‘pipping’, or in the process of hatching, six at the A colony, and one at the B colony; the chicks in these eggs will all hopefully hatch within the next one to three days.
“Another five eggs were confirmed as fertile but still have more development to go before they are ready to hatch, two at the A colony, three at the B colony.
“In addition, there are another two nests where eggs have been confirmed but cannot be inspected to see whether they are fertile or not.
“Hopefully, we will possibly get another chick or two from these wild-card nests!”
Mr Madeiros added: “As these results indicate that we may end up with a potential total of up to 25 or more chicks, the odds look good that we will exceed last year’s record of 19 fledged Nonsuch cahow chicks.
“Hopefully, I will be able to start visiting the other nesting islands later this week to get a better idea of the total number of hatched chicks for the entire population number. I look forward to it! “
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Category: All, Environment
