PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, Kauai — The Navy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to move seabird eggs away from an active runway on Kauai to Oahu’s North Shore.
The Navy says Laysan albatross nesting at the Pacific Missile Range Facility put aircraft and crews at risk. That’s because the birds have a 6-to-7 foot wingspan and tend to circle over their nests.
Officials will fly the eggs to Oahu, where they will be placed in an incubator for hatching. Humans will raise the chicks on squid, fish and vitamins at James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge in Kahuku.
The Navy said Tuesday it’s moved albatross eggs away from the runway for the past decade.
Usually it sends the seabirds to other albatross nesting colonies on Kauai’s north shore, but these colonies have limited space.