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Watch the cahow mating ritual at sea

A cahow in flight (Photograph by Andrew Dobson)

Residents have the chance to witness cahows in flight on a boat trip provided by the Bermuda Audubon Society and the Bermuda Zoological Society.The RV Endurance will travel off the south shore, beyond Cooper’s Point, where the rare seabirds perform acrobatic courtship displays in the late afternoon before returning to their burrows under cover of darkness.Other seabirds such as shearwaters and petrels may also be seen.Jeremy Madeiros, a conservation officer for the Government, said: “All but a few of the cahows have returned from the open ocean and have rejoined their mates in their nest burrows on the Castle Harbour nesting islands.“November is the month when cahows, which usually mate for life, meet their mates in the nest after spending the last five to six months apart at sea.”Mr Madeiros said cahows renew their pair bond by mutual preening, mating, gathering grass and leaves for nest material and building the nest together in their underground nest burrows.He added: “They also carry out mutual acrobatic courtship flights both over the nesting colonies at night, and sometimes at sea off the nesting islands during the afternoon, when they assemble offshore waiting for night to fall.”• The trip is planned for Saturday. Reservations can be made at http://bamz.resqwest.com/web/. Contact info@audubon.bm for more details