May 28th 2024 @1:45 AM: the Cahow chick that the DENR & Nonsuch Expeditions Teams, scientists, students and followers from around the World, and the diligent volunteers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have been watching grow via the CahowCam1 LiveStream over the past few months has fledged!
When she was last checked by Jeremy Madeiros on May 26th (as seen in the video below) and subsequently named “Vega” by his daughter Lizzy, her weight and wing chord measurements were well within the range when she would normally be expected to fledge, however she still had an excessive amount of down that needed to slough off prior to finally fledging.
She had already started her nightly explorations around the colony, flexing and exercising her wings, whilst imprinting on her surroundings so that she could find her back 4 to 6 years from now should she survive these next few years at sea…
She is one of a record 25 chicks to hatch on Nonsuch this year, from a record 39 breeding pairs split between Nonsuch Translocation Colonies A & B, out of this year’s 75 egg pairs (that were proven to lay their single egg wether or not it hatched) found throughout the Colonies including Nonsuch and the nearby Islets.
Nonsuch Expedtions founder and CahowCam creator J-P Rouja was tracking her throughout the night with the remote controlled infrared surface Camera as she made her way around the Colony ant finally captured her launching into her first flight.
Stay tuned for a video highlight reel of those activities….