For more than 300 years, the Bermuda petrel was believed extinct. A remarkable discovery in 1951 gave the 'lost bird' a second chance

For centuries, the Bermuda petrel survived only as a memory. Sailors and islanders knew the bird had once filled the skies around Bermuda, but by the modern era it was considered gone forever. Then, in the middle of the 20th century, a handful of unexpected discoveries changed its story. A small colony was found hiding on remote rocky islands, revealing that the species had not vanished completely. What followed was one of the longest and most unusual bird recovery efforts in the world, shaped by a young naturalist, David Wingate, who devoted much of his life to giving the cahow a chance to survive.How the 1951 discovery rescued the Bermuda petrel from extinctionThe Bermuda petrel, known locally as the cahow, disappeared after European settlers arrived on the islands. The seabird had once nested across Bermuda, but its ground-nesting habits made it extremely vulnerable. Humans hunted the birds, while animals brought to the islands, including rats, pigs, cats and dogs, attacked eggs and chicks.As reported in the research Bird Conservation International published by Cambridge University Press, titled ‘Establishment of a new, secure colony of Endangered Bermuda Petrel Pterodroma cahow...