SpaceX project puts Pacific seabirds in jeopardy
A project proposed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force to test hypersonic rocket cargo deliveries from a remote Pacific atoll could harm the many seabirds that nest at the wildlife refuge, according to biologists and experts who have spent more than a decade working to protect them.
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A Great frigatebird chick scolds neighboring seabirds as they fly past its nest on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2021. Now a thriving home to 1.5 million seabirds, a solitary building left behind when the Air Force turned over control of the island as a wildlife refuge in 2004, stands in testament to its former role as a military installation.2/17
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A male Great frigatebird guards his young chick while mom is out catching food for the cranky baby on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2019.3/17
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A juvenile Red-footed booby prepares to set off in the early morning hours, to spend its day foraging in the Pacific waters surrounding the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2021.4/17
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A shy Brown booby chick peeks out from under its parent’s legs on Sand Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2021.5/17
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A Red-tailed tropicbird protectively guards its weeks-old chick on its nest on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, in 2021.6/17
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A breeding pair of Red-footed boobies attend to their nest on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2021.7/17
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Potential Red-tailed tropicbird mates perform their elaborate courtship display over Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2021. This aerial display consists of a dramatic dive followed by looping backwards over each other all while squawking loudly.8/17
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A male Great frigatebird flies past with his large gular sac inflated to impress the local females on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2019.9/17
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A view of the Pacific waters, over 700-miles from the nearest landfall, surrounding the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge which is a sanctuary for the 1.5 million seabirds that rely on the uninhabited atoll for refuge and breeding, in this undated handout image.10/17
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A male Great frigatebird returns to its nest and chick on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2020.11/17
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A Red-tailed tropicbird comforts its hungry young chick on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2019.12/17
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Red-footed boobies and Great frigatebirds fill the sky after a brief shower that led to a rainbow over the eastern edge of Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, in 2019.13/17
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A dark morph Red-footed booby defends its young chick from the biologist walking by to add their nest to the census on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2021.14/17
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Sooty terns fill the skies as they return to Johnston Island within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge to establish their breeding colony in July 2021.15/17
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A male Red-footed booby performs his "sky-pointing" mating display for any onlooking females on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2019.16/17
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A Red-tailed tropicbird nest, as found, in an area that used to be a trash dump and has many plastic utensils strewn about on Johnston Island, within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 2021.17/17
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Red-footed boobies return to Johnston Island within the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge after spending the day at sea foraging in 2019.
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