As a way of boosting supportive Ocean Conservation conversations we are putting out a series of videos under the OurOcean banner which have exceeded 100,000 views in the last week, and have triggered much needed conversations, please see previews here.
Soon to fledge CahowCam 2 chick named Caduceus by Jeremy's daughter.
Our CahowCam 2 chick, the last to hatch in the colony is now about 10 days from fledging so stay tuned for more checks and highlights of its nocturnal activities!
As is tradition Jeremy and JP’s daughters take turns naming the CahowCam chicks and this year it is Jeremy / Elizabeth’s turn. She has just graduated from Veteriniary school and most appropriately Dr. Elizabeth Madeiros has named this years check “Caduceus” often used as the symbol of medicine…
Congrats Lizzy!!!
Keep watching the LiveStreams particularly CahowCam3 which JP and Jeremy will remote control after dark to track Caduceus and its neighbors as they wander around the colony imprinting the few nights before fledging.
Also stay tuned for a visit from Ettrick Animal Hospital next week when they visit Nonsuch to get a blood sample for BioQuest to use for their genomic paternity test to answer this year’s Who’s the Daddy’ question…
Luke Foster Appointed as the First Nonsuch Expeditions Naturalist in Residence
On the International Day for Biological Diversity the Nonsuch Expeditions has kicked off its “Naturalist in Residence” programme with its first appointment: Bermudian undergraduate student Luke Foster.
Since 2021, Foster has been contributing observations to iNaturalist - a social media platform for environmentalists where users can upload records of species and the community can help identify them. In that time, Foster has accumulated 12,000+ observations across 4800+ species worldwide, with 5000+ of those across 1700+ species in Bermuda, making him the most prolific iNaturalist contributor in Bermuda.
"I got addicted to iNaturalist, I wanted to find as many new things as possible," said Foster. The 19 year old is currently studying Zoology at the University of Leeds. He has contributed several first time identifications of species in Bermuda, first photographs of species in Bermuda, and even helped investigate possible undescribed species.
Foster explains that he began identifying species on land, but quickly found that the diversity in the ocean is much greater, with more opportunities for discovery. "I have spent hundreds of hours in the water, flipping up rocks for tiny nudibranchs. There is an infinite amount of stuff to find."
He uses an Olympus TG 6 to take high definition underwater photographs of little known species. The importance of photographic records cannot be overstated: "biodiversity is plummeting - you need a baseline, to prove they were here at some point."
Foster uses a combination of the community of experts on iNaturalist and Bermudian reference books like 'Marine Flora and Fauna of Bermuda' by Wolfgang Sterrer to identify species. Foster says that nudibranchs are a favourite species to spot, as well as noting a fondness for insects, birds and fish.
"To find new things, you have to look small," says Foster. Larger species have already been accounted for, but there are plenty of obscure invertebrates waiting to be discovered.
Foster was collecting sand samples off of Elbow Beach to look for micro snails and discovered an unusual shell that was just 3mm long. Mauricio Fernandes, a Brazilian expert on iNaturalist who was in the process of mapping the phylogeny of snails in the Atlantic, determined it was an undescribed species, not just in Bermuda but around the world.
"The lab at the University of Leeds was kind enough to take photos of the shell under an electron microscope - often that level of detail is needed to identify small species," said Foster.
After Fernandes saw the photos, he realised that he had made an ID mistake in one of his old papers. It was determined that the shell was actually an endemic species to Bermuda, Triphora turtlebayensis.
"It's an endemic that no one knows anything about. There's no live specimens that have been collected. It's only described off of a few shells found 30 years ago. This was the first record since then. So unfortunately, it wasn't a truly undescribed species, but it was almost as close as you can get," said Foster.
"If you can identify the species around you, that's the first step to understanding the broader ecology of a system and how all the individual parts work together," says Foster.
Foster is coming up to the end of his second year at the University of Leeds, and for his thesis he hopes to collect biodiversity data in Bermuda. While he enjoys travelling to other countries to discover species new to him, there's something special about gaining a deeper understanding of Bermuda's ecology.
"I get way more satisfaction from seeing something new in Bermuda than anywhere else," said Foster.
Jean-Pierre Rouja, Founder of Nonsuch Expeditions shares, “Luke has been prolifically posting his discoveries and observations online for years and the fact that this started whilst he was still in high school makes it all the more remarkable. I look forward to working with him on Nonsuch Island and out into Bermuda’s waters this summer to see what else he might find, and to help us showcase our unique Biodiversity. I may even rope him into helping identify interesting targets for sequencing by BioQuest.”
BioQuest’s mandate to build local genomics capacity so that our biodiversity can be sequenced in Bermuda, by Bermudians for the benefit of Bermuda, without samples needing to leave the country, aligns perfectly with this.
We are also featuring him in a social media series showcasing his finds as part of the recently launched OurOcean campaign boosting ocean-positive content.
Heart of the Sea -Bermuda Premiere as part of Our Ocean Film Series on May 18th
🎥 Please join us for the Bermuda Premiere of the Heart of the Sea short film, 7pm, May 18th at the Speciality Cinema as part of the OurOcean Films series.
Heart of the Sea plunges audiences into the vibrant waters and rich culture of Bermuda, a vital biodiversity and ocean science hub at the heart of the Atlantic. This documentary offers an immersive exploration of how Bermuda is pioneering a blue economy—one that balances economic growth with the preservation of its precious marine heritage.
Guided by Bermudian scientists, poets, and political leaders, we embark on a journey through the island's breathtaking seascapes and delve into its hidden underwater shipwrecks, bustling with marine life. The film unveils the groundbreaking scientific efforts to combat climate change and safeguard these fragile ecosystems.
Purchase Tickets Here or visit the OurOcean OurFilms page
CahowCam 2 "Who's the Daddy" chick updates and upcoming DNA test reveal.
Our CahowCam 2 chick is growing well as seen in the update below.
However there is a problem: Due to lack of synchronization between Sampson the resident male and his new mate, over the past 2 breeding seasons she has returned to their underground burrow a few days earlier than him, and the CahowCam has revealed her engaging in ex-pair mating with other males, putting their chick’s paternity into question.
For an otherwise thought to be monogamous species, how prevalent is this?
Thankfully BioQuest comes to the rescue and is conducting ground-breaking Cahow Paternity Tests as part of its ongoing genomic population study.
All will be revealed at a special event at Speciality Cinema on Wednesday May 20th, for which you may purchase tickets here.
Jermey will provide a season update, JP will play CahowCam highlights and Dr. Carika Weldon will give a fascinating Cahow genomics 101 and then the big “Who’s the Daddy?” reveal!
WHERE ARE OUR FISH? Opinion Piece From the Royal Gazette by J-P Rouja
REPRINT of Royal Gazette Opinion Piece by Nonsuch Expeditions Founder J-P Rouja
A grassroots “OurOcean” campaign is being launched based from this article, learn more @ www.ourocean.bm
Bermuda's government has an opportunity to do something historic — to commit to stronger marine protections and secure the future of our ocean for generations to come. I am writing to make the case, simply and directly, that it must seize it.
After I moved back home in 2000, I began organising expeditions for visiting film crews and had the privilege of working alongside some of the world's most renowned marine conservationists. A comment I heard repeatedly from divers who have explored ecosystems across the globe — people such as Sylvia Earle and the Cousteaus — stayed with me: “Nice corals, but where are your fish?”
Read moreCahowCam2 "Who's the Daddy" chick health check.
The CahowCam2 chick is growing well, however its paternity is once again in question.
It is the 16th chick that Sampson the resident male has raised, and the second with his new mate after the first disappeared 3 years ago. The CahowCam camera installed in its burrow enabled the team to observe x-pair mating between this new younger female and other males prior to Sampsons return for the past 2 years, resulting in violent and perhaps even fatal eviction of the interlopers.
Local Genomics NGO BioQuest conducted a paternity test on Last year’s chick “Inna” and will do so again this year once we obtain blood samples before it fledges.
Stay tuned for a talk where the “Who’s the Daddy” results will be revealed and how this genomic population study may re-write what is known about the breeding behaviours of this once thought to be monogamous species.
Please sign up to our Newsletter and select the films / event option for an invitation.
Meet the Record Breaking Number of Easter Chicks on Horn Rock
Happy Easter from J-P, Jeremy and all of our fuzzy Cahow chicks!
Join us for a rare tour of neighbouring Horn Rock, currently home to the largest Cahow sub-population, (which the expanding Nonsuch Colonies are projected to takeover in the next few seasons), where this visit revealed a record number of 28 chicks!
The Instagram and YouTube videos below have highlights from the all day visit in early April and introduces a dozen of the chicks as our Easter gift.
Where have all our Sharks Gone? Watch “Shark Country”, featuring Teddy Tucker.
PLEASE WATCH THIS FILM
We are hosted this film as part of the Our Ocean campaign film screenings on May 18th @ the Speciality Cinema visit Our Ocean Films page for future dates and educational and lunch and learn options.
One of the starkest examples of change on our reef is the disappearance of the once ubiquitous sharks.
Teddy Tucker has been described as a Bermuda National Treasure. Peter Benchley, author of Jaws and The Deep, described his close friend, Teddy as a walking encyclopedia: 'A master of every discipline having to do with history and the ocean. One of the great autodidacts in the history of science.’
Teddy mused that: ‘a day not spent in the underwater world, a day not spent diving, would seem to me a day lost, wasted and empty’. This love of the ocean was married to a hunger for knowledge, a sharp mind and a photographic memory.
Teddy Tucker, best known as a shipwreck hunter and underwater explorer was first and foremost a fisherman. On a fishing trip in 1994 he was asked for his thoughts on changes he had witnessed over his time fishing off Bermuda. One of the starkest examples of change on the reef is the disappearance the once ubiquitous sharks.
Other fishermen and hunters share their observations of further change they have experienced over the past 30 years. Together with Teddy they stand as witnesses to the decline in Bermuda's marine environment gleaned over years of consistent free diving and scuba diving on the island's reef.
Jean-Pierre Rouja > Nonsuch Expeditions Founder: “The almost complete disappearance of sharks from Bermuda’s eco-system as highlighted in this film, simply can’t be ignored.
Despite all of the ongoing debates regarding how much of, and how best to protect the remaining life that we have left in our waters, there should be no question that we are far worse off now than we were a generation ago.
However, the challenge with personally observing changes in the ocean is that each successive generation has a shifting baseline of what is normal, and even then we don’t always notice gradual changes over time. Whilst those of us who spend time on and under the water will have seen changes within our lifetimes, predominantly for the negative, (though at times positive with recoveries possible when reasonable rules are put in place and enforced), no one can deny the fact that we no longer have sharks on our reefs, along with the cascading impact of losing these Apex predators…
Though obviously not to the same degree, I personally have seen this, which is one of the reasons I am so involved in ocean conservation today. I spent my teenage summers in the late 70’s’s working on one of the last large fishpot vessels, and at the time after hauling up our offshore Argus and Challenger seamount fish pots we often had to speed to the next location to get away from the sharks that were following us for fear that they might accidentally interfere with our gear when we dropped it back over… Even at that time though, we rarely, if ever, saw them on the reef platform.”
* The original post was made in March 2024
Our condolences to the Tuckers for the passing of Edna.
BioQuest Cahow population study expected to unlock the secrets of rare Cabit mutation.
A very rare Cabit chick (a Cahow / Rabbit hybrid) has once again been seen on Nonsuch Island!
Shorty after Bermuda was settled in 1609 the Cahow population, already in decline was put under immense pressure by rats and the harvesting of eggs and birds by settlers for food, to the point that by 1620 they were thought to have gone extinct.
They were not seen again for 330 years until they were rediscovered in the 1950’s, having survived a near-bottleneck extinction event which is now thought to have resulted in cross species heterozygous offspring.
Historically rabbits from nearby Hen Island must have swum over to Nonsuch Island at some point pior the Airport being constructed in the 1940’s (which now separates the islands), and prior to the Cahows' rediscovery in 1951, when they were down to the last few pairs and forced to resort to hybridization to ensure their survival.
The gene for the ears has become recessive, only appearing every few generations (with the offspring named a "Cabit"), however all chicks in the colony still hatch with soft grey rabbit type fur instead of feathers, which they then molt prior to fledging. The Cahows have also retained the habit of nesting in deep underground burrows which they spend several seasons excavating with their mate.
Nonsuch Expeditions Founder J-P Rouja: This type of mystery is best resolved by Genomics and is one of the reasons why I co-founded BioQuest with Dr. Carika Weldon. Our local Lab and all local Team leverages genomics for conservation, and one of our signature projects the Cahow Genomic Population Study through which we aim to sequence the entire species, will help us identify which genes are at play here…
Dr. Carika Weldon Founder CariGenetics: “In biology a hybrid is mix of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties, species or genera. Using genetics terminology, hybrid is synonymous with heterozygous: any offspring resulting from the breeding of two genetically distinct individuals.
J-P Rouja “Back in the 1970's when I was a cub-scout we used to go camping on Hen Island in St. Georges which was still overrun with rabbits. Prior to the Airport being built in the 1940's it would have been a relatively easy swim for them to reach Nonsuch. We spent today trying to catch one so that we could take a DNA sample, however they are just too fast. Fortunately the CahowCam documented one back in 2017 so we have further proof of their existence.”
*AI Notice: Ai was NOT used to generate these images, the first sightings were in 2017 which pre-dates those capabilites. We are old-school and used photoshop, as opposed to the glue gun which matted the chicks fur :)
Meet the 2026 CahowCam2 Chick
On March 14th Jeremy and JP were able to get out to Nonsuch and meet the newly hatched CahowCam2 chick, watch the video here.
Hatching Highlights from the 2026 CahowCam2 Chick
Here are video Highlights of the hatching and first 18 hours of the new CahowCam2 chick’s life…
The CahowCam2 chick has hatched!
First revealed by Sampson @3:17am on March 13th, one of the rarest chicks in the World hatched today, witnessed by our online LiveStream followers who had been waiting patiently for the past 5 days since the first “pip” was revealed on March 8th…
Video replay coming soon… Watch The LiveStream here:
CahowCam2 Hatching Day 4
Egg crack revealed on March 12th
CahowCam2 Hatching Day 1
CahowCam2 Hatching countdown and chick count update.
UPDATE> March 12th | 10am still no reveal, however Sampson is increasingly agitated and keeps refreshing the nest and checking under his belly, all indications that hatching is underway…
UPDATE> March 8th | When checked today the egg had already started pipping, earlier than expected! So if all goes well it is expected to hatch in the next 24-72 hours…
The countdown is in for the LiveStream hatching of the CahowCam2 chick, which is now projected to hatch by March 10th, so please keep watching the LiveStream page or the realtime video mirrored below. The CahowCam1 pair’s egg unfortunately failed this year, but the cameras have revealed the potential causes and associated behaviours…
As a repeat of last season’s “Who’s the Daddy” drama, its mother once again arrived earlier than Sampson for their fall courting and nest building period and engaged with another male for a few days of “ex-pair mating” before he was violently evicted upon Sampson’s return. The potential chick’s paternity is therefore in question which will be addressed through a paternity test as part of the genomic population study being conducted by BioQuest, which is revealing insights into the hidden behaviors of this traditionally thought to be monogamous species…
The above egg was one of the last to be laid this season with the majority throughout the colonies already having hatched or being well underway. As of last count both the Nonsuch and Horn Rock colonies each had at least 17 confirmed chicks with at least 5 more accessible eggs being still viable with many having started pipping, as seen in the video below.
Meet the first 2026 Nonsuch Cahow Chicks!
JP and I have been able to get out to Nonsuch Island twice in the last 10 days, this is an important time in the breeding cycle of Bermuda's endangered national bird, the Cahow. It is important as this is when the eggs are hatching, so that you finally find out what the chick numbers will be this year.
Jeremy, JP & Mark Blaxter
We first went on February 25th with a special guest Mark Blaxter head of the Tree of Life Programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, who was in Bermuda for the Bermuda Principles Genomics Conference which JP is also part of wearing his BioQuest hat.
We then went back out on the morning of Saturday, 28th Feb. in unusual, foggy conditions that completely hid the islands at times, to meet a larger group also led by JP from the same genomics conference. Following the tour, I was able to carry out a check of all the nest burrows at the "A" nesting colony.
The results were as follows (A colony only):
8 Cahow chicks already hatched, ranging 1 day to 15 days age.
5 Eggs where hatching was underway (an up to 3-day long process).
5 Fertile eggs where embryos are still developing
I will be carrying out further checks this week (weather as always permitting) to the rest of the nests and the "B" colony and will update as I get around to the other nesting islands.
Keep watching the LiveSteams as the egg in CahowCam2 is on track to hatch around March 14th as it was one of the last to be laid this year, and is subject once again to “Who’s the Daddy” concerns…
We have the first Cahow chicks of 2026!
1st Cahow Chick of 2026 Season > burrow C30 on Horn Rock Feb18th | Fertile egg > burrow R824 on Nonsuch Island Photos: Jeremy Madeiros
Feb 18th 2026 on Horn Rock > 1st Cahow chick of season revealed!
“I have been trying to squeeze in checks of the Cahow nesting islands when weather conditions and other work responsibilities allow. On the 15th Feb. I spent much of Sunday afternoon checking nest burrows on Horn Rock, seeing the first pips in eggshells in at least 3 nests as the hatching process began. On 18th Feb., I was able to land again on Horn Rock and confirm the first chick of 2026, being brooded by the male bird (band no. E0265) in the C30 nest and only about 24 hours old (see photo). I was also able to check the few remaining nests I had not been able to look at on the previous check, and it looks like there are at least 29 nests with fertile, hatched or hatching eggs on this islet.
Meanwhile, on Nonsuch Island, I believe that there are at least 3 chicks that have already hatched, although I have not been able to make a detailed check there in over a week. On my last check, there were 25-27 nests with fertile eggs, giving us a real chance of equaling or exceeding the record number of 25 fledged chicks from 2024. This included the R824 nest, with its fertile egg being incubated by the male C0896 Cahow (pictured).
Note: it was great to have sunny conditions for the Horn Rock check on the 18th Feb, when I was not only able to see my first 4 Longtails (White-tailed Tropicbirds) of 2026, but was also treated to 3 Snow Buntings, blown in by the recent winter storms - a crazy mix of tundra and tropical species!”
Jeremy Madeiros | Chief Terrestrial Conservation Officer Department of the Environment and Natural Resources
“We have a backlog of videos being edited from prior visits, so stay tuned for the fist check of Nonsuch Colony “B” and updates from CahowCam2 and the ongoing “Who’s the Daddy” saga…”
J-P Rouja | Nonsuch Expeditions Founder
CahowCam egg updates: Cam1 has failed, whilst Cam2 is fertile
“Extremely windy, stormy weather conditions since the beginning of 2026 have made it difficult to safely make the trip from Flatts Inlet to the nesting islands of the Bermuda petrel (Cahow) in the Castle Harbour Islands Nature Reserve, which has reduced the number of visits to Nonsuch, and the outer nesting islands.
After having last visited on January the 23rd, during which I attempted to repair a “dimple dent” in the CahowCam1 egg, I was finally able to able get back out to Nonsuch with J.P. Rouja on the 4th of February, during a 4 to 5-hour gap in the dominant gale to storm-force winds, to carry out a complete check of nests, Cahows and eggs being incubated at the Nonsuch “B” nesting colony, which will be the subject of another post and video.
After this, before heading back and under the threat of an incoming gale, we were able to quickly check the two CahowCam nests at the Nonsuch “A” colony. There we were able to confirm that the egg in the CahowCam 1 (R831) nest has failed likely after being further damaged in a fight between the resident incubating female bird (band no. E0212) and a suspected invading Cahow, most likely a young prospecting male bird looking for a new nest and trying to evict the resident bird and take over the nest. This egg has now disappeared from the nest chamber and has probably been knocked into the entrance tunnel.
The news is much better in the CahowCam 2 (R832) nest, where on my previous monitoring visit on Jan 23 the resident male bird, “Sampson” (band no. E0174) was incubating a newly laid egg, only laid about 2 to 3 days before. On Feb 4, the female Cahow from this nest (band no. E0643) had returned and taken over incubation of the 57-gram egg, which when candled proved to be fertile, with a well-developed embryo inside.
Jeremy after confirming that the CahowCam2 egg is fertile.
Although the CahowCam 1 pair will continue to make occasional visits to their nest, they are essentially finished for this season and will have to wait until the next (2026-2027) nesting season to have their next chance of producing a chick. Meanwhile, we will continue to keep our fingers crossed and monitor the CahowCam2 nest, and hopefully this pair will come through again and produce a downy chick sometime around the 10th of March! So please sign up for the Newsletter alerts and watch the LiveStream.”
Jeremy Madeiros Principle Scientist – Terrestrial Conservation, Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources
Jeremy attempts rescue of the CahowCam1 egg.
On January 23rd Jeremy and JP were finally able to get out to Nonsuch and get a second look a the CahowCam2 egg; the Good News is that it is viable, the Bad News is that we have identified a problem…
This particular pair successfully fledge a chick every other year giving a 50% success rate, which is the average for the species, with failures and losses occurring for a number of reasons… However in their case the CahowCam1 LiveStream through which they have been observed for the past 14 seasons has shown that they regularly fight over who gets to take on the incubation, at times quite aggressively, and in doing so sometimes accidentally damage the egg shell, and which may also contribute to the failure of the embryo even when there is no obvious damage to the shell.
Egg shell damage was the cause last year when the egg in this same nest failed due to a “dimple” dent that Jeremy tried to rescue using a coat of clear nail-poilsh (a trick learned from captive breeding programs) which works 50% of the time for Cahows. This year we once again have a dimple which Jeremy can be seen treating in the attached video, however as this one is smaller, and was treated early, there is still hope that they will be successful this year.
Jeremey, JP and the online followers were already concerned this season after a several hour very aggressive battle occured on January 9th when an unknown male fought with the resident female for control of the egg before giving up and flying away before sunrise. We are on the fence as to whether or not this was the resident male, however the following night he did return and the pair resumed their traditional passive-aggressive incubation arguments with her remaining with him for the following 5 nights before finally departing for her well deserved recharging period back out at sea. Cahow females generally leave within hours of their mates return as they urgently need to recover from egg-laying, however as she is the largest female in the colony she may carry enough fat reserves to allow her to hang around longer…
As of this writing she was still out at sea so keep watching the CahowCam LiveStreams for her return, after which the pair will generally alternate week-long incubation shifts until, if still viable, the egg hatches towards the end of February.