to the tender loving care it received from substitute father, Andre Raine.

Government Conservation Officer David Wingate, while working with the endangered species in the Castle Islands area, noticed the chick's "inexperienced parents had not fed him for ten days''.

First-time Cahow parents have a tendency to reject their offspring, Mr.

Wingate said.

"They had given up on him altogether; he was not in the best of shape,'' he said.

Mr. Raine, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife biology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, took over the challenge of rearing the premature chick, whom he nicknamed Lucky Charm.

With the aid of special equipment provided by Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo head aquarist Jennifer Gray and the assistance of his girlfriend, Giselle Laxalt, Mr. Raine dedicated the last three weeks to caring for the bird.

Feeding Lucky Charm a calculated diet of partially liquefied squid, shrimp and vitamins while monitoring its condition on a daily basis helped the chick steadily regain its health.

Eventually, the recovered Cahow was taken to Nonsuch Island where, 20 days after being rescued, Lucky Charm flew confidently out to sea.

Following in Mr. Wingate's footsteps, Mr. Raine has now become only the second person ever to nurture a Cahow chick through to full flight.

After hearing of his accomplishment, Mr. Wingate said: "Andre was very enthusiastic and I had all confidence in him.

"He definitely deserves credit. What he did took a lot of time and effort. It was quite a feat,'' he added.

However, watching the Cahow take flight was only part of Mr. Raine's success story.

Later that day, he was awarded a Government Post-Graduate Scholarship in order to obtain a Masters Degree from the University of London.

"Taking care of such a rare bird was a wonderful opportunity,'' said Mr.

Raine. "Chances like that don't come along too often.'' Andre Raine