Diving petrels on Choros Island climbed from 12,000 pairs to nearly 90,000

Breeding pairs of Peruvian diving petrels on Choros Island rose from about 12,000 in 2013 to nearly 90,000 in 2024, a study in Marine Ornithology reports. Discover Wildlife described the count on November 3, 2026. Nesting habitat expanded from 3.2 hectares in 2010 to more than 10 hectares in 2024. The island, part of Humboldt Penguin National Reserve, holds about 95 percent of Chile's breeding population of the species, María José Vilches of Island Conservation told the magazine.

Invasive rabbits had stripped plants and damaged the burrows the petrels need. Vilches said removing them was the change that sped recovery. Researchers at Universidad Católica del Norte estimate the island's population is roughly 300 times what it was in 1980, a climb that took decades of protection, not only the years since the rabbits left. Growth more than doubled after the removal. The species was downlisted from Endangered to Near Threatened in 2020. On nearby Chañaral Island, artificial burrows and recorded calls are being used to draw petrels back. The figures are breeding pairs and nesting ground on Choros. They are not a head count of birds at sea.