The most eventful CahowCam Season on record culminates with "Inna's" fledging.

“Inna” our latest CahowCam 2 Star, fledged just after midnight on June 13th as part of this season’s final batch of Cahow chicks to fledge out to sea, marking the end of the 2024-2025 breeding season. Watch the above video summary of the most eventful CahowCam season since we (the Nonsuch Expeditions) started streaming 14 years ago, including highlights of the final 4 nights that Inna spent exercising and imprinting around Colony “A” before finally fledging.

Jean-Pierre Rouja | Nonuch Expeditions Founder & CahowCam Creator: “The CahowCam platform currently consists of 2 underground cameras: CahowCam1 in burrow # 831 (which failed earlier this season) and CahowCam2 in burrow #832, which have been LiveSteaming for the past 14 years. This season the 24/7 monitoring that they enable has truly proven its value to the recovery and management of the species, including raising paternity questions for the Cam2 chick, whilst also saving it from an invading Tropicbird.

The CahowCam3: Surface Cam, located on a post in the middle of Colony “A” has remote “PTZ” (pan, tilt, zoom) functionality, allowing us to monitor the comings and goings of Cahows (and threats) to the burrows in the vicinity, as well as the external nocturnal activities of chicks when they come out to exercise and imprint on their surroundings the few nights before they fledge. Every season as we document and archive the events in the Cam1 & 2 burrows we also aim to capture the final fledging of those chicks as an end-cap to the season, which in practice is easier said than done. In normal circumstances it requires many all-nighters on the part of myself and Jeremy, alongside our daytime responsabilites, which we have somewhat gotten used to, however this year was all the more challenging.

Our CahowCam2 chick, (one of the last to hatch and fledge in the Colony) was projected to fledge starting around June 10th, which coincided with the UN Oceans Conference in Nice which I was attending. This meant that my nights were spent tracking Inna around the Colony (on hotel wifi and the corresponding frustrating delays) and my days were spent navigating Nice and the associated UN meetings, etc. Nonetheless I managed to do so nightly until Inna finally fledged just after midnight Bermuda time on the 13th, a compilation of which can be seen in the above video.”

*Unfortunately the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has ended their much appreciated support for the program. To help keep the Cams going, our International followers can support these efforts here, else please contact us directly.

Jeremy Madeiros | Chief Terrestrial Conservation Officer & Nonsuch Island Warden: “We ended up with a total of 78 successfully fledging chicks, from 165 established nesting pairs (that produced an egg this season). The total number of chicks would have exceeded 80, but unfortunately at least 4 chicks were killed by smaller then usual White-tailed Tropicbirds (Longtails) which managed to squeeze through entrance baffles (designed to exclude them) and kill the resident chicks while trying to take over the nests for their own use.

Additionally, two Cahow chicks were barely saved during nest checks when Tropicbirds were found in the nests with the chicks and were unceremoniously tossed out before they could kill them.

One of these was the CahowCam2 chick, named "INNA", in the Nonsuch Island R832 nest burrow, which fortunately was being watched online by J-P Rouja whilst he was on the phone with me from my home in Flatts, when the Tropicbird broke in. I was then able to dash out down to the boat in Flatts Inlet, and race at full speed down the North Shore, across Castle Harbour, and arrive at Nonsuch in time to eject the Tropicbird before it seriously injured the chick. JP had been studying the CahowCam feed that morning as there was an adult Cahow in the burrow which we had observed was not acting like a parent, (aggressively preening the chick, but not feeding it etc.), but this adult effectively saved the chick by lunging at the much larger Tropicbird distracting it long enough to enable me to get there in time to save the chicks life. Imagine my surprise when I checked this adult, and found that it was not one of Inna's parents, but rather a young adult, named "Zephyr" which fledged as a chick from this same nest in 2020! So, Inna may have been saved by its half-sibling!

Adding to the drama, there is some uncertainty as to who the father of Inna actually is. Once again thanks to the 24/7 nest monitoring enabled by the CahowCam platform, when the female from this nest first returned, it was joined for 4 days in the nest, not by its mate, Sampson (band no. E0174), but by another male bird (band no. E0296) that had been temporarily ejected from its own R821 nest elsewhere in the colony by a new prospecting pair. They were seen mating together before "Sampson" returned, sized up the situation within seconds, and being a larger bird, quickly attacked and ejected the other male. A blood sample had already been collected from the E0296 bird a couple of years ago during a study of Persistent Organic Pesticides in Cahows, and another sample was taken from the "Inna" chick by local vets Andrew Madeiros and Jenn Busby from Ettrick Animal Hospital. These samples have been sequenced by Genomic Population Study partners BioQuest, and soon we should be able to answer the question of which male Cahow is Inna's daddy!

The graph shows the weight (in grams) and wing chord length (in millimeters) of "Inna" from a 4-day-old chick at 65 grams of weight on 13th of March, to a 2-month-old large chick on 11th of May reaching a maximum of 433 grams, to a fully-fledged, 93-day old bird on 11th of June, 2 nights before it fledged to sea, the last Nonsuch chick to do so. Before fledging, it was confirmed that "Inna" is a male, so we should see him back in 3 to 4 years.

All the best and good journeys, Inna!”

Bermuda’s blue parrotfish: Viral United Nations Ocean Conference Campaign

Bermuda’s blue parrotfish were spread virally throughout the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference in Nice with a message:  Protect the Parrotfish - Protect the Reef

“Several years ago for the UN and other global ocean conferences, I started creating stickers using wildlife photography from the Nonsuch Island Nature Reserve’s flora and fauna to promote Bermuda’s biodiversity.”  J-P Rouja, Nonsuch Expeditions Founder & Media Producer

J-P Rouja & Dr. Sylvia Earle

“One of the most popular images was the blue parrotfish, which I then used to create a small batch of lapel pins. These quickly became a favorite amongst our collaborators and supporters — including ‘Her Deepness’, the legendary ocean researcher and activist, Dr. Sylvia Earle (with whom I am an Ambassador for the Sargasso Sea Commission) — and soon the pins were a collectors item featured on the event lanyards of many iconic conservationists and politicians.

This year, the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, gathered ocean advocates, scientists, and politicians from over 200 nations. To build on the momentum, I printed a batch of several hundred 1.5” parrotfish stickers to tag the conference ID badges of friends, collaborators, youth leaders, and like-minded conservationists. This proved highly successful and they gained widespread popularity throughout the conference appearing on badges, phone cases and in event-related imagery.

Whilst the blue parrotfish is a stunning image in and of itself, parrotfish have ecological significance in Bermuda and beyond for protecting the reef. In Bermuda, parrotfish are also a conservation and fisheries management success story.

Parrotfish are considered keystone species for coral reef ecosystems, meaning they are critical to the health of the coral and other life. They not only clean algae from corals, keeping them healthy, but they also help produce the fine sand that Bermuda’s beaches are famous for, though natural erosion, calciferous algae, and single-celled organisms called foraminifera, (which makes our sand pink), also play part in that process.

Despite their importance to the health of our reefs, they were routinely caught and sold as filet by the larger commercial fishing operators in the 1970’s and 80’s, prior to the commercial finned fish pot ban.  As the industry scaled up to larger vessels and much larger pots it was decimating key reef species and virtually collapsed the entire reef fish ecosystem. 

Now, some 30+ years after a subsequent fish pot ban, (whilst other types of fishing is still permitted) the ecosystem has yet to recover properly, with many previously targeted species still commercially extinct, and Bermuda has a lower than expected level of fish biomass found on our otherwise relatively healthy reefs.

A common observation, from world renowned ocean experts, the Cousteaus that I hosted here a few years ago is a perfect example who stated after coming up from a dive: “It's nice to see your healthy corals, but where are your fish?”

In the 80s during my early teens, I spent several summers working as a deckhand for one of the worst offenders. Operating from a larger vessel he took the traditional artesian style 3ft x 3ft pots that could be hauled by hand, and scaled them up to long strings of 10ft x 10ft death-trap pots that could ingest whole schools of fish. I can speak from experience that literally everything larger than the holes in the wire mesh, that entered the traps was pulled to the surface and died. If you would want to eat it (i.e., grouper, snapper, etc.) it was cleaned and sold whole. If you wouldn’t necessarily want to eat it (i.e., parrotfish., etc.) it was sold as filet. If it was too small or inedible, it was thrown into a meat grinder and turned into lobster bait. Seeing our reef fish devastated was an experience I shall never forget and part of the reason why I am now committed to advocate for ocean health and develop tools for sustainable fisheries management and ocean conservation.

A few years later, in 1993, alongside the banning of (finned) fishpots, an outright ban on the fishing of parrotfish was put in place. Although unpopular at the time, more than 30 years later Bermuda is seeing the recovery of many species of parrotfish with spawning aggregations being observed for the first time in decades. Some of these are now found schooling in relative abundance on our reef platform, including giant 2 to 3 ft specimens routinely swimming between tourists feet at popular beaches, a sight unheard of in most of the world where they are still targeted as food. 

The Parrotfish is Bermuda’s testament that fisheries management works, but we need to take it further than just focusing on one species and consider our reef eco-systems as a whole. 

Whilst Bermuda is still in the midst of a drawn out process to establish marine protected areas (MPAs), the lessons learned from our historical targeted protection of species, such as the outright ban on catching parrotfish, and seasonal protection of spawning aggregation sites for red hind and black grouper show that our reefs are resilient when given a chance, and species can recover. Yet, there is a tipping point where it is too late for the ocean and specific species to bounce back, (in our case several species of once abundant grouper, like the Nassau, never recovered), which is why it’s important for us to take further action to protect our reefs worldwide.

In the case of the parrotfish, their recovery is arguably one of many factors why our reef remains relatively healthy (despite the general lack of fish) as their continuous grazing helps keep the algae in check which can otherwise stress a reef, and during extreme events can overwhelm corals before they have time to recover.

It is therefore my humble opinion and suggestion that we should work to protect our reefs as a whole, in a way that is implemented and enforced. And where this is not possible, then at the very least, spawning aggregations should not be targeted, and protecting parrotfish and other grazers should be considered.” 

*These are personal opinions based upon decades of observations in Bermuda. I fully appreciate that these are complex issues, and there may be locations where excessive grazing by parrotfish negatively impact corals when they in turn are not kept in check by apex predators such as sharks. However, this shows a larger imbalance to the health of our reefs, that we should work together to restore.

Protect the Parrotfish - Protect the Reef.

J-P Rouja | Founder > Nonsuch Expeditions | Co-Founder > BioQuest & Station-B

Fledging Watch for "Inna" the CahowCam 2 Chick. UPDATE > Fledged on June 13th

UPDATE: June 13th @00:07 am At seven minutes past midnight on June 13th Inna finally fledged successfully from the “Launch Pad” section of Colony A. Safe travels Inna, see you in a few years!

Stay tuned for the official recap blog post with video replays of the past few nights activities!

Our star CahowCam chick, now named “Inna” has had a very eventful life thus far in the 3 months since it hatched, and is now on a countdown to fledging which could happen any night.

Cahows will only “fledge” (when they fly out to sea for the first time) at night, under cover of darkness, and JP & Jeremy will be doing their best to remotely control the CahowCam3 SurfaceCam throughout the night to track it as it shuffles around the Colony, exercising its wings, whilst also imprinting on its surroundings, to guide its return 3 to 6 years from now.

UPDATE: June 10th @ 3am > This year’s CahowCam 2 chick is exercising outside its burrow on Nonsuch Island and appears to be getting ready to fledge! Watch the LiveStream below.

UPDATE: June 10th @ 6 am > It did not fledge last night and has settled back in the burrow to rest for the day.

UPDATE: June 11th @3am after more activity and exploring tonight it is now back in the burrow resting though it is likely to head back out and possibly finally fledge before dawn…

UPDATE: June 12th @8am In the end it did not fledge last night so stay tuned for the night of the 12th/13th when JP in particular will stay up tracking it once again.

‘Ocean with David Attenborough’ Premiered Ahead of United Nations Ocean Conference

Bermuda’s ocean champions gathered last week for the Bermuda premiere of Ocean with David Attenborough, hosted as a private event by The Nonsuch Expeditions and presented by 10percent for the Ocean and the Sargasso Sea Commission at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. 

The event drew a full house, with many prominent figures from Bermuda’s marine conservation, scientific research, and advocacy communities. Among the distinguished guests were government officials and dignitaries, including the Hon. Jaché Adams, JP, MP, Minister of Public Works and the Environment; the Hon. Kim Wilkerson, JP, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice; the U.S. Consul General Antoinette Hurtado, and the acting Deputy Governor.

"It was a privilege to attend this important screening and engage with others committed to protecting our ocean as marine conservation remains a priority for the Government,” said the Hon. Jaché Adams, JP, MP, Minister of Public Works and the Environment. “I want to thank all of the organisers and sponsors for their efforts and look forward to working collaboratively to help ensure the sustainable use of Bermuda’s marine resources for generations to come," 

“This vital film has been four years in the making and reflects the collective effort of hundreds of people working together to spark a profound shift in how we protect the ocean,” said Jasper Smith, founder of 10% for the Ocean, one of the film’s producers. “It is a sobering truth that we spend 100 times more on ice cream than we do on ocean conservation. Through 10% for the Ocean, we’re calling on individuals, businesses and foundations to take the 10% pledge — by committing just 10% of your annual giving to the ocean, we can end the most destructive forms of fishing, restore marine ecosystems, and bring the ocean’s former abundance back to life.” 

Jean-Pierre Rouja, founder of The Nonsuch Expeditions, had previous experience working with Doug Anderson, director of underwater photography for ’Ocean’, as well as co-producer Silverback Films. In 2015 the team worked together in Bermuda for a month to produce a Sargasso Fish sequence for the BBC Natural History Hunt series — which was also narrated by David Attenborough.  “We spent nine months of prep work and several weeks of filming to secure the three minutes of footage that made its way onto the screen, which is quite common for productions like this,” said Rouja. “We have also joined the 10% for the Ocean effort, as their mission aligns with ours, and should be seriously considered by the Bermuda philanthropic community.”

“The message is clear: the ocean's health is essential to the health of the planet,” said Dr. David Freestone, executive secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission. “We know the threats, and we know that tools like area-based management can help. Now it is up to us to collaborate and put measures in place to ensure these iconic areas keep functioning as they should.”

The screening was also a timely opportunity to highlight Bermuda’s commitment to ocean stewardship ahead of the upcoming UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France (June 9–13) and was followed by an engaging panel discussion with local ocean science experts. 

Panel speakers included Dr. Mark Guishard, COO of ASU-BIOS; Jean-Pierre Rouja, founder of Nonsuch Expeditions, co-founder of BioQuest and Station-B; Jessica Mello, blue economy expert at Blue Bridges; and Fae Sapsford, marine research fellow for the Sargasso Sea Commission. The panel was moderated by Ali Hochberg, sustainability consultant and responsible tourism specialist. 

Discussions centred around: 

• Bermuda’s history of important contributions to ocean and atmospheric science. Using decades of oceanographic measurements collected by time-series programs run by ASU-BIOS, we have increased our fundamental understanding of baselines conditions in the ocean, the ocean’s role in the climate system, and how the ocean is responding to a changing global climate.

• Development and application of cutting-edge ocean science technologies. Recent examples include passive acoustic sensors for monitoring and protecting marine species; specialised modular sensors for coral reef assessment and management; and environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling and sequencing in partnership with local non-profit BioQuest.

• The potential for growth in Bermuda’s blue economy. Blue economy industries such as marine tourism, renewable energy, and food production can be further developed in Bermuda through targeted investments in technology, data, and finance, along with the implementation of strong legal and regulatory frameworks to protect vital ocean resources.

• Tools for ocean protection. Marine protected areas are regions of the ocean set aside for long-term conservation aims. There are a variety of other area based tools for ocean protection, such as the scientific designation of ‘important marine mammal areas’ that highlight critical habitat for cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), which can be used as a starting point for the discussion of conservation measures. 

• Protecting marine life in the open ocean. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement is a recently adopted international treaty with the objective to conserve and sustainably use marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including the Sargasso Sea — where the Bermuda Government is playing a leading role in conservation through its ongoing collaboration with the Sargasso Sea Commission.
  

The event was sponsored by Butterfield & Vallis, The Loren, and conservation patrons Brining and Lampit, and presented by 10% for the Ocean — one of the film’s producers in collaboration with the Sargasso Sea Commission, with support from The Nonsuch Expeditions

Who's the Daddy Genetic Tests underway with BioQuest

On June 6th Jeremy and JP were joined on Nonsuch Island by Andrew Madeiros and Jenn Busby from Ettrick Animal Hospital to draw blood from our CahowCam2 chick for genetic analysis by local partners BioQuest.

The lab will sequence it next week and then start the analysis process, so stay tuned for the answer to the question of the season:

Who’s the Daddy?

David Attenborough’s Ocean Film - Bermuda Premiere

This is David Attenborough’s greatest message of hope - revealing 100 years of incredible ocean discovery and why there’s nowhere more important for all life on Earth than the ocean.

The Private invitation-only Bermuda Premiere will be presented by film producers 10% for the Ocean and the Sargasso Sea Commission, with support, and hosted by the Nonsuch Expeditions, to bring the local Ocean and Conservation communities together in the lead up to World Ocean Day and the UN Ocean Conference in Nice.

Co-produced by Open Planet Studios and Silverback Films, Ocean with David Attenborough showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never-before-seen, from destructive fishing techniques to mass coral reef bleaching. 

Yet the story is one of optimism, with Attenborough pointing to inspirational stories from around the world to show that the ocean can recover to a glory beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen.

The Nonsuch Expeditions founder Jean-Pierre Rouja had previously worked with this new film’s Director of Underwater Photography Doug Anderson and producer Silverback Films to produce a Sargasso Fish sequence for the BBC Hunt series which was also narrated by David Attenborough, and filmed in Bermuda over a month period in 2015.

To be advised of future screenings of this and other Ocean and Conservation films please signup for, or update your preferences on our Newsletter and select the “Please notify me of Film Screenings” option …

Star Bermuda Petrel chick is growing strong!

The CahowCam 2 chick who’s questionable paternity is just one of several issues that the CahowCams have brought to light this nesting season, continues to grow well.

Watch as Jeremy conducts its latest health-check accompanied by visiting scientist Rebekah Rogers from UCON and they discuss BioQuest’s upcoming population genomics study.

It is the youngest in Colony A, therefore its neighbours have started fledging. Tune in to CahowCam3 after dark to watch the LiveStream as the team track the chicks exploring the grounds outside their burrows for the final few nights before they fledge.

Scandal on Nonsuch - Who’s the Daddy - Jerry Springer Remix

Picture this: It’s late at night on Nonsuch Island, and the CahowCam is rolling. Suddenly, the peaceful world of Bermuda’s rarest bird explodes into a full-blown Jerry Springer episode-feathers flying, love triangles, and a burning question: “Who’s the Daddy?”

Act 1: The Cahow Love Triangle

Meet Sampson, the colony’s longtime heavyweight champion and beloved resident, who’s just lost his longtime mate Susie. After 14 years and 12 chicks, Susie vanishes, and Sampson, still grieving, finds himself the island’s most eligible bachelor. Enter E0643, a young, eager female ready to start her own family. But just as Sampson’s about to settle into his new romance, the Nonsuch Expeditions CahowCam covertly filmed E0643 in a steamy late-night rendezvous-with another male!

The next morning, the conservation crew, Jeremy Madeiros (now playing the role of Jerry Springer) and longtime cameraman sidekick J-P Rouja, discovers the scandal: E0643 has mated with a mystery man before Sampson’s dramatic return resulting in an on-camera brawl and eviction of the intruder. The island’s gossip mill goes wild. Who fathered the new chick? Is Sampson the proud papa, or has he been duped by an interloper? 

Act 2: DNA Drama in the Burrow

Just like Springer’s infamous paternity tests, the conservation team calls in the scientists. Enter Dr. Carika Weldon and once again J-P Rouja, also head of the BioQuest crew, armed not with envelopes, but with Oxford Nanopore sequencers and a mission to settle this avian paternity dispute once and for all. They will collect DNA samples from the chicks, Sampson, and the mystery male. The results? Pending-but the science is solid: genomics can now reveal not just the father, but the entire tangled web of Cahow family relations, including the interloping male’s other family in a nest further up de hill, the chicks’ potential secret half-sibling, and hidden affairs across the colony!

Act 3: The Science Behind the Scandal

All this drama isn’t just for entertainment. The team’s work is rewriting the book on Cahow biology and conservation:

- Genomics reveals parentage: Just like Springer’s DNA tests, but with Oxford Nanopore sequencers, confirming who’s the real daddy and mapping the entire Cahow family tree.

- Lineage tracking: Years of Jeremy’s detailed field notes and infra-red camera livestream footage have created a reality show archive, now cross-referenced with genetic data to expose every love triangle and secret sibling.

- Conservation impact: These revelations help scientists understand breeding success, genetic diversity, and inbreeding risks-crucial knowledge for a species that survived centuries with just a handful of pairs.

Final Thoughts: From Scandal to Survival

In the end, this isn’t just a bird soap opera. By combining high-tech genomics with boots-on-the-ground detective work and a dash of reality TV drama, the team is building a Ancestry.com style family tree for the entire species, securing the future of the Cahow-one genomic test at a time. As Jeremy “Springer” Madeiros might say, “Take care of yourselves-and each other’s chicks!”

To keep up with the scandal and other Cahow news, follow the Nonsuch Expeditions blog: www.nonsuchisland.com/blog

Who’s The Daddy? Cahow Love Triangles and Secret Siblings

Scandal in Burrow 2 ! Affair !! Cahow bar-room brawl !! DNA test for paternity!! Chick may have half sibling in another nest ! Jeremy is the new Jerry Springer !! All explained below in sordid detail !!

This is a perfect use case for the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources and Nonsuch Expeditions collaboration with BioQuest on Population Genomics:

The IUCN Red-Listed Bermuda Petrel, or Cahow, has been called a “Lazarus species” for good reason. Thought extinct for over 300 years, its rediscovery in 1951 sparked one of the most remarkable conservation stories in history. By blending decades of meticulous fieldwork with cutting-edge technology, scientists have brought this critically endangered bird back from the brink. But as Cahow populations climb past 165 breeding pairs, a new question has emerged, one that combines livestream drama, detailed lineage tracking, and genomics: “Who’s the daddy?”  

This is the story of how conservation genomics, livestream cameras, and old-fashioned detective work are unraveling mysteries of Cahow parentage, and what it means for the species’ survival.

Chapter 1: Cahow Comeback Chronicles

The Cahow’s haunting cries once echoed across Bermuda’s islands, earning it a ghostly reputation among early Spanish and Portuguese sailors, giving the island the name “Isle of Devils” and is one of the reasons they never settled. By the early 1600s, however, human settlement (from a British shipwreck) and invasive predators drove the species to near extinction. For centuries, the bird was presumed lost, until 1951, when Bermudian teenager David Wingate joined ornithologists on an expedition that uncovered 18 surviving pairs nesting on remote islets.  

Wingate devoted his life to saving the Cahow, pioneering habitat restoration techniques and creating artificial burrows to protect nests. His successor, Jeremy Madeiros, took over in 2001 and expanded these efforts with translocation projects that moved chicks to safer locations on Nonsuch Island. Today, thanks to their combined efforts, the Cahow population is steadily growing, but with growth comes new challenges.

Chapter 2: Meet Sampson >The Star of Burrow #832

One of Madeiros’ most famous success stories is “Sampson” (band no. E0174), a male Cahow he translocated as a chick in 2005. After spending three years at sea - a rite of passage for young Cahows, Sampson returned to Nonsuch Island in December 2008 and claimed Burrow #832 as his own. He soon paired with Susie (band no. E0172), another translocated bird from his cohort. Over 14 years together, Sampson and Susie raised an impressive 12 chicks, a breeding success rate far above average for the species.

 But in the fall of 2023, Susie failed to return from her oceanic migration and was presumed lost at sea. Sampson waited alone for a few weeks in Burrow #832 until a younger female arrived. After some initial hesitation (and territorial disputes), Sampson accepted her as his new mate. Their first egg failed in the Spring of 2024, which is quite common for a female Cahow’s first egg, but they paired up again the following fall, laid their next egg in January of 2025 and by March, their first chick hatched—a moment broadcast live to thousands of viewers via the CahowCam livestream.

 However, there was one twist: before Sampson’s return to Burrow #832 in the fall, his new mate had been observed mating with another male on camera. This raised an intriguing question: who’s the father of their chick?

 Madeiros’s detailed observations thicken the plot even further as the interloping male was later found further up the hill, in his original nest, with his original mate, where they produced another chick, potentially its half-sibling…

Chapter 3: Tech Meets Tradition

The mystery of Burrow #832 wouldn’t even exist without Jean-Pierre Rouja’s technological innovations. Founder of Nonsuch Expeditions, Rouja has spent over a decade developing tools to monitor Cahows without disturbing them. His breakthrough came in 2011 with the launch of the CahowCam Livestream Platform, custom built infrared cameras installed in artificial burrows that allow scientists and viewers worldwide to observe nesting behaviors in real time.

“Before the CahowCam, we could only guess what happened inside those burrows,” Rouja explained. Since the start of the project 10’s of millions of minutes of Cahow video have been watched by our Team, dedicated volunteers, and followers from around the World, allowing us to observe their intimate natural and at times surprising nesting behaviors, and now we’re seeing things we never imagined—like this year’s drama in Burrow #832.”

Rouja’s tech arsenal doesn’t stop at cameras, as he develops and deploys tools to solve conservation challenges, by himself, and in collaboration with global partners. From an AI-assisted rodent detection system with The Nature Conservancy, to GPS tracking devices with Bermuda Petrel BioMonitoring Project, and bioacoustic monitoring projects with Cornell Lab of Ornithology, he has pushed the boundaries of what conservation technology can achieve. Most recently, he partnered with Dr. Carika Weldon to co-found BioQuest and integrate genomics into conservation efforts.

Chapter 4: Genomics Solves “Who’s Your Daddy”

Enter Dr. Carika Weldon, who spun off the BioQuest NGO from her Human Health focused Genomics startup CariGenetics, the first Oxford Nanopore-certified sequencing labs in the Caribbean region. In collaboration with Rouja, and Madeiros, Weldon is leading a groundbreaking genomic population study of the entire Cahow species—a project that aims to sequence DNA from every individual bird.

“For a species thought extinct for centuries, understanding their genetic diversity is crucial,” Weldon explained. “It helps us answer questions about their resilience, and yes, it can also tell us who fathered that chick in Burrow #832.”

By analyzing DNA samples from Sampson’s chick and potential sibling, and comparing them to known genetic profiles within the population (including that of the interloping male), Weldon’s team will determine paternity with absolute certainty. But this isn’t just about solving one family drama, it’s about unlocking deeper insights into Cahow biology.

“Genomics allows us to see patterns we couldn’t before,” Weldon said. “Why do some pairs succeed while others fail? How did they survive as a few dozen pairs for centuries of near-extinction without becoming terminally inbred? These are questions only genetics can answer.”

Chapter 5: The Bigger Picture

The genomic study isn’t just about answering “who’s your daddy” questions, it’s about future-proofing an entire species against climate change and other threats. For example, genomic data could have influenced past translocation decisions by prioritizing genetically distinct individuals for translocation, and colony expansion.

 Rouja sees genomics as transformative for biodiversity conservation, especially for Red-Listed Critically Endangered Species in need of better informed management decisions for their recovery: “By layering genetic sequencing onto Jeremy’s unparalleled field dataset, which includes detailed logs of virtually every nest, pair, and chick in these new colonies since day one, we’re unlocking secrets hidden just out of view. ”

Madeiros agrees: “Every chick represents hope, but now we have tools like genomics to make sure that hope is grounded in science.”

The Cahow recovery project exemplifies how history, science, and technology can converge to save a species once lost to time. From Wingate’s pioneering work in the mid-20th century to Madeiros’ field expertise, to Rouja’s tech innovations today, and Weldon’s sequencing and analysis efforts, this Lazarus species continues its upward trajectory, a beacon of hope for conservationists worldwide.

 As Rouja aptly put it: “For outreach and engagement, the public interest in genomics has started with the question about who fathered one chick, but it’s become a gateway for learning about an entire species.” For Sampson’s chick in Burrow #832, and for nature, the best chapters are still ahead.

The first phase of this project was made possible by a BioQuest grant from Global Atlantic, and the 2024 Cultural Apprenticeship Program that supported BioQuest Technician Haley Raynor’s work with Jeremey Madeiros and J-P Rouja. BioQuest is actively looking for a sponsor for the upcoming population study, please contact us for more information.

New Bermuda Governor visits Nonsuch Island

On April 2nd, the newly appointed Governor of Bermuda Andrew Murdoch, visited Nonsuch Island for an informal private tour with Chief Terrestrial Conservation Officer, Jeremy Madeiros and Nonsuch Expeditions founder and CahowCam creator Jean-Pierre Rouja.

Whilst there he participated in, and assisted with a health check of a Bermuda Longtail (White-Tailed Tropic Bird) and its newly laid egg, then met this year’s cohort of Cahow chicks in colony A with Mr. Madeiros, including the star CahowCam 2 chick.

He was also given a tour of the Eastern portions of Nonsuch Island, including the Native forest which is now 65 years into a 100 year groundbreaking ReWilding effort returning the island to how Bermuda looked when the first settlers arrived in the 1600s.

Watch the video below which includes Jermey’s updated checks with this year’s Cahow chicks.

Earth Day 2025

Happy Earth Day from Nonsuch Island in Bermuda!

Our Critically Endangered Bermuda Petrel population is in the midst of another very successful nesting season, and this year the Conservation Technologies being built and deployed by the Nonsuch Expeditions and its global partners are contributing greatly to the effort.

The now 14th season of LiveStreaming and global outreach enabled by the CahowCams, has alerted us to potential paternity questions that will be answered by our BioQuest partner as part of a Genomic Population study, and averted what would have been fatal nest-invasion by a Tropic Bird.

VERGE ARTICLE: Hacking GoPros to help save the Atlantic’s rarest bird →

The Bermuda petrel was thought to be extinct for over 300 years. DIY conservation tech is helping to bring it back from the brink. Article from The Verge by Alexandra Marvar Apr 9, 2025

This is the Origin Story for the CahowCams > click here to read article

CahowCam2 - Terrifying Nest Invasion by Tropicbird averted.

Jeremy, thanks to an alert from the CahowCams, has averted a potentially disastrous Tropicbird (longtail) invasion of the CahowCam2 burrow.

Over the past 14 years, the 24/7 live streams, generated by the CahowCam’s on Nonsuch Island have been monitored round the clock during the 6+ month nesting season by our Nonsuch Expeditions and DENR Teams, dedicated Cam volunteers, and crowd-sourced followers from around the world.

During this time we have been able to monitor and log the intimate nesting behaviors and other activities of the critically endangered Bermuda Petrels or “Cahows” that would otherwise be impossible to observe.

This season, increased visits to the CahowCam burrows, by Cahows suspected to be other than the resident pair has raised questions about what happens when a Colony is so successful that the population expands faster than new burrows can be built.

This year we have documented multiple occasions when prospecting Cahows, obviously looking for an empty nest, enter the CahowCam 1 and 2 nests and instead of simply moving on to find an empty one in the neighborhood (perhaps due to the lack thereof) have remained and interacted with the resident parent(s) and/or the chick.

This has actually led to questions about the paternity of the current CahowCam2 chick which we are addressing as part of a study with our Genomics partners BioQuest, (which will be the subject of future posts), and has led to multiple fights between the adults.

The LiveStreams have allowed our regular observers to gain an understanding of what normal feeding visit behaviors should look like, and over the past few nights, what appeared at first to be the parents returning, was in at least one case prospecting birds that spent a few hours somewhat aggressively attempting to brood and harass, but not feed, the chick.

Then at one point during the night of the 21st an aggressive prospector was joined by a second Cahow, (which may have been the resident female), which it attempted to mate with, and had an altercation.

Jeremy and I have been monitoring this nightly, and as one adult did not leave back out to sea on the morning of the 23rd and decided to stay in the nest for the day (which happens rarely), it gave us the opportunity to identify which bird it was. Therefore around 10 am, we were on the phone deciding if we should commit yet another of our Sundays to going back out to Nonsuch to catch it and get the band ID#.

As we were jointly watching online, shockingly, a Tropicbird entered the nest, fought briefly with the adult, and started harassing the chick.

Once it started attacking the chick, the much smaller Cahow bravely lunged at it before being chased in to the tunnel, leaving the Tropicbird sitting on top of the chick.

As we had already lost a few Cahow chicks this year on the outer nesting islands to prospecting Tropicbirds that will kill the chick and takeover any nest that they can get into, Jeremy immediately dropped everything and raced to his boat to try to get to Nonsuch in time to interrupt this impending fatality…

In the early days of the Cahow recovery program, up to 2/3 of all of the Cahow chicks every season were being lost in this way until Dr. David Wingate, Jeremy’s predecessor, developed “Baffles” wooden barriers cut to block the more obvious ocean-facing burrows, which have a hole in them just large enough for Cahows to squeeze into, but too small for the usually larger full grown Tropicbirds to fit through.

These usually work, however as Jeremy has documented recently, and happened again today, persistent, smaller than average Tropicbirds can sometimes squeeze their way in and try to take over the nest, often killing whatever they find inside.

Ultimately Jeremy made it all the way from his home in Jenning’s land, to his boat in Flatts inlet, raced along a rough north shore and across Castle Harbour, and onto Nonsuch in a record 35 minutes and was able to extract the Tropicbird from the nest (which was sitting on top of, and had the chicks down in its beak) just in time to save our chick!

View fullsize

Zephyr, defending her sibling chick.

The adult Cahow in the nest was found as suspected to be a young female prospector (which by its presence stalled the Tropicbird long enough to save the chick), so Jeremy relocated it to an empty burrow further up the hillside, which it could claim as its own. When Jeremy was able to return home to check his banding spreadsheet and compare the band number (E0750) of the prospecting Cahow that had been with the chick, it was discovered that it had fledged as a chick from this very nest on June 12th, 2020, and named "Zephyr" by his daughter Lizzy Madeiros!

So “Zephyr” had returned just in time to save her Sibling!

To help reduce future Tropicbird invasion attempts, Jeremy then placed a mound of scurvy grass to make the entrance less visible to prospecting Tropicbirds from the air, a strategy that seems to be working on similarly exposed nest entrances on the outer islands, as unlike Cahows they are not able to walk properly / explore once on the ground and literally need to see their target from the air, and try to crashland into their nest openings.

So, the CahowCams continue to answer questions, and along with Jeremy, today at least, helped save the day…

CahowCam2 Chick's 1 st health check

During World ReWilding week, we released the first health check video for our latest CahowCam chick, one of the rarest seabirds on the Planet.

It hatched on March 9th, in Translocation Colony “A” on Nonsuch Island in Bermuda, the world-renowned, 16 Acre Nature Reserve that is now 65 years into a 100 year re-wilding process, and this video was filmed when it less than a day old…

The Cahows are a “lazarus species” thought extinct for over 300 years, which are now re-populating Nonsuch Island where they had not been seen since the 1600’s. This has been enabled by the ground-breaking Translocation Project that started 20 years ago, and is a major part of the ongoing re-wilding process, bringing the island back to a pre-colonozation state.

Our star is this year’s chick from nesting burrow #832, from which one of the CahowCams has been live-streaming for the past 15 years, and in this video he gets his first health check.

The CahowCam LiveSteams that are monitored 24/7 by the Nonsuch Expeditions, DENR and dedicated Cam volunteers, are allowing us to observe and log intimate behaviors that would otherwise be impossible. This includes nest activities around the time of this chick’s conception which raise paternity questions, which we have been studying with our partners BioQuest, and will be the subject of a future post. Similarly some of the Cahows seen in the nest over the past few nights, are acting in ways that indicated that they may not in fact be the parents, stay tuned for updates.

World ReWilding Day 2025

In Celebration of World ReWilding Day, the Nonsuch Expeditions have joined the Global Rewilding Alliance to showcase the ground-breaking Ecological Restoration effort started by Dr. David Wingate 65 years ago, which continues on under his successor Warden Jermey Madeiros and the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, to share lessons learned, and support other rewilding efforts from around the World.

To follow is a message from Jeremy as can be seen in the attached video:

“So we're out on Nonsuch Island with JP Rouja and Haley from BioQuest, and it just so happens it's the 20th of March and today is: World ReWilding Day.

Nonsuch Island is one of the earliest examples of rewilding on the planet. Of course, back then we called it Ecological Restoration but now it's phrased as ReWilding, and it's actually about 65 years since it started, making it one of the longest lasting ones.

Among many other things, it's included the planting of over 16,000 native and endemic plants to re-establish a native indigenous forest cover on the 16 acre Nonsuch Island Nature Reserve.

Whereas before this started, it was a completely barren desert island with only dead cedars and crabgrass and not much else growing on it.

So everything you see, was planted by either: Dr. David Wingate, myself, various volunteer groups, and my work crew.

Many other projects that all went into the Nonsuch Island rewilding included:

• the re-introduction of the Yellow Crown Night Heron to Bermuda from chicks that were sourced in Tampa Bay, Florida.

• the re-introduction of the West Indian Top Shell, which is now once again, after a century and a half of being absent from Bermuda, was re-introduced from the Turks and Caicos Islands, and now it's found island-wide in the intertidal zone.

• the protection of skinks and the preservation of the only (Nonsuch) population that seems to be really stable in Bermuda right now.

And of course the real centerpiece of the rewilding has been finally, in the last 20 years, the return of Bermuda's national bird, the endemic and critically endangered Bermuda Petrel or “Cahow”, to Nonsuch Island, because for nearly 400 years, it was confined to four half-acre rocks like Green Island, past the south tip of Nonsuch.

They are so small that in a hurricane, they go deeply underwater, they are 18 feet at their highest point, and imagine them under the impact of 25 to 30 foot waves during a hurricane, of which we've had 18 damaging ones in the last 30 years.

So I guess this is symbolic.

There are now, 40 pairs that are nesting on Nonsuch Island because of a Translocation Project moving chicks from those islands to these artificial nests on Nonsuch, and then taking over as the foster parent, feeding them daily, measuring their growth, and then letting them imprint on the island before they fly out to sea, and then waiting three to six years for them to mature and return.

The first ones returned 2009, four years after we started moving them, and the first chick was produced, name of Somers, after Sir George Somers on the 400th anniversary of the SeaVenture shipwreck, we didn't plan that, it just happened, it was serendipity.

And now, 16 years later, we have gone from one pair producing one chick, to 40 pairs producing this year, we think, about 24 chicks.

So I couldn't be happier with how the whole project is happening and how it's adding immeasurably to the Nonsuch ReWilding project.

We've been able to check all of the Cahow nests over the last couple of days in this part of the colony.

It's, I think, an indication of how fast this colony is growing, that it's taken longer and longer to do, as there's so many chicks now.

I remember when we had just one or two chicks and how excited we were, and that wasn't that long ago, it's only about a dozen years ago.

So very it's a very positive project, and when you're involved with a really successful project like this, where the species is responding so well to the management work that we're doing for it, it's it's a very encouraging and uplifting thing.

And I as a biologist, to have worked with such a fascinating species that we're still teaching us all sorts of things about the oceanic ecosystem.

So happy World ReWilding Day to everybody on a beautiful spring Bermuda full day.”

The 2025 CahowCam2 chick has hatched! Watch Replay

Our 2025 CahowCam2 Chick Has Hatched!

First Appearance: March 9th @ 20:55 | Fully Revealed: March 9th @ 20:57

On March 10th at 21:35—exactly 24 hours after the chick hatched—the male parent departed for his first foraging trip at sea. He is expected to return in a few days, while his mate is also due back soon with her own feeding contribution. Since this is her first chick, it remains to be seen if her timing aligns perfectly. Note from JP: “We’ve received many concerned messages from viewers about the chick being left alone. This is completely normal. The chick’s dense down keeps it warm without the need for constant parental coverage once it dries after hatching.”

The 24/7 live streams and archived recordings from CahowCam 1 and 2 provide a rare, intimate look at the secretive nesting behaviors of the critically endangered Bermuda Petrel (Cahow). These insights are invaluable for the conservation and management of this iconic species. To support these underfunded efforts, please consider reaching out to us.

A Countdown to Hatching

The Nonsuch Expeditions and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) teams, along with dedicated volunteers and a vigilant community of viewers, were on “Hatch Watch” after Jeremy noticed “dimples” on the CahowCam2 egg during a health check on March 5th.

Dimples are small indentations in the eggshell caused by the chick beginning to peck its way out from the inside. This marks the first visible stage of hatching, which can be confirmed by candling the egg (illuminating it with a bright light) and monitoring its weight for developmental changes.

When the dimples break through the shell and inner membrane, they become “pips,” signaling that hatching is imminent. Once the membrane is pierced, the egg begins to dehydrate. The chick must break out within about four days to avoid the risk of dying in the shell.

The monitoring team closely observed the incubating parent’s behavior and watched for brief moments when the egg was uncovered. On March 7th, during a parental handover, the male returned to relieve his younger mate. At that time, the dimples were just barely visible on camera.

The Final Stages

View fullsize

On the morning of March 9th at 5:30 a.m., the first small pips were spotted when the male briefly left the nest to chase away another prospecting Cahow. This moment was captured by the SurfaceCam, which is typically used to document fledging chicks, nighttime aerobatics, and territorial confrontations.

Throughout the day, the team kept a close eye on the video feed. Audible peeping sounds from the egg could be heard beneath the incubating parent. Fourteen hours later, a dime-sized hole appeared on the egg.

From that point, things progressed quickly. At 20:55, the chick’s still-wet upper body emerged from under its parent, and by 20:57, the chick was fully visible.

A New Life Begins

The devoted father carefully tended to the chick, keeping it warm and protected while its down dried. The chick emerged from under him four hours later, already begging for its first meal.

The male parent regurgitated a black, tar-like, pre-digested meal that he had stored in his gullet for several days. This nutrient-rich food will sustain the chick for its first few weeks of life. At around two months old, the chick will transition to digesting fresh fish and squid.

Watch the Chick Live!

You can follow the chick’s journey in real-time via the CahowCam live stream. Stay tuned for more updates, the full story, and video replays of this incredible event!

Hatching is underway in CahowCam2 > Hatched @ 20:57

UPDATE: Our chick has hatched and we have our first full reveal @ 20:57 after first appearing @ 20:55

On March 9th at 5:30 am, the male Cahow in the CahowCam2 burrow briefly left the nest to chase away another prospecting Cahow, revealing for the first time to the team and online viewers a fully "pipping" egg.

View fullsize

Click for closeup

In the video, his vocalizations are audible, followed by peeping from inside the egg as the chick responds.

The hatching process began on March 5th when "dimples" (small dents in the egg) were first observed by Jeremy. These dimples develop into "pips" once they pierce the membrane and eggshell. After this stage, the chick must fully hatch within a few days to avoid dehydration.

According to Jeremy's experience, if everything proceeds smoothly, the egg should now be on track to fully hatch within the next day or so, although it could happen within hours of this posting (written on Sunday afternoon).

Watch the LiveStream and stay tuned for updates.

Early Hatching Alert for CahowCam2!

As of Jeremy’s latest health check on March 5th, the egg in the CahowCam2 LiveSteaming nest had started the hatching process. This starts with “dimples”, with dents seen on the egg, and progresses to “pipping” whilst the chick chips away at the egg from the inside until it breaks through, all of which can take one to four days before it fully hatches, so please keep watching the live stream, If all continues to go well, it should hatch in the next few days.

During the check, Jeremy found the new female Band# E0643 to be incubating, which was a good sign as this would be her first chick, and up to now, her mate has been doing most of the incubating…

During the same health check to Nonsuch Colonies “A” and “B”, there were 14 confirmed chicks, two more that were suspected but hidden from view in out of reach nest chambers, and 8 more eggs that were pipping, (keeping us on track to hopefully match last year’s record of 25 Nonsuch chicks), but unfortunately 3 chicks were either confirmed dead or had disappeared after hatching. *This is within a normal loss range, as historically the success ratio of eggs laid, that hatch, and the chicks survive through to fledging, ranges from 48% on a bad year, to up to 60% on a very good year, the reasons for which are behind the Genomic Population Study we are conducting with local NGO BioQuest.

24 Feb 2025 J. Madeiros with 3-4-day old Cahow chick, photos Lynn Thorne.

Elsewhere in the Colonies, during Jeremy’s last check of Horn Rock on March 1st, after checking 2/3 of the nests he was able to confirm 12 chicks and 6 eggs pipping.

A big unknown this year is the state of the Green Island Colony, which due to weather challenges and the island generally being very difficult to land on, Jeremy has been unable to do a check since November, the results from which will influence whether or not we break the record number of fledging chicks for the combined colonies (and thus the entire species), all of which are based on and around Nonsuch Island.

If you haven’t yet please sign up to our Newsletter for Alerts when the chick starts fully hatching.