Baby Cahows are hatching out on Nonsuch Island

Dozens of fluffy Cahow hatchlings are thriving on Nonsuch Island and the surrounding islets.

Twenty-eight healthy chicks have already been confirmed by senior conservation officer, Jeremy Madeiros.

And Mr Madeiros says early indicators suggest that this year’s numbers could top last year’s figure of 57.

So far two little chicks have been found on Nonsuch Island, while a further 26 are nesting on the surrounding four islets.

Mr Madeiros told the Bermuda Sun: “I have been a little surprised to see so many chicks at this early stage of the nesting season.

“We are already up on last season and the hatchlings all look to be well fed and doing well.

“The first two to three weeks of March tends to be the peak of the hatchling season so it all looks very good at the moment.

“The Cahow produces only one egg per year, of which about 56 per cent to 59 per cent hatch.

“Chicks take over three months to mature, fledging out to sea from late May to early June.”

He added: “Right now the parents are busy making these incredible feeding trips for the chicks.

“We have discovered that the average journey the adult takes is between 2,500 and 3,500 miles to get squid and krill for the hatchlings.

“This journey can take two or three days so the parents tend to work in a kind of tag-team way.

“Some Cahows fly all the way to Cape Cod and Newfoundland for the food for the babies which is an amazing journey.”

The endangered species was almost entirely decimated by rats and dogs introduced by early settlers.

But the bird was rediscovered in 1951 in very small numbers.

Since that time conservation efforts spearheaded by Mr Madeiros and David Wingate have seen numbers gradually grow.

And just last year the number of nesting birds passed the 100-mark.

Mr Madeiros plans to relocate several pairs from the surrounding islets to Nonsuch later this summer as part of the conservation project.

He said: “The small islands have been badly affected by hurricanes as well as the weather – and have slowly been eroded.

“This obviously means that there is less space for the Cahow to nest. So the plan is to relocate 15-20 pairs onto Nonsuch later this summer in around May or June as part of this conservation effort.” n