It could not mean much to Man that the Bonin petrel arrives on some islands in late August, and that some of its young are still there in mid- June. Building of an airstrip could have no concern with the fact that two species of albatrosses nest on certain islands near the end of October, and that their last young do not depart until July of the following year. The birds would move out of the way of bulldozer or tractor, but their eggs or young would be crushed, accounting for the loss of many birds, a situation that was as unfortunate as it was unavoidable. The wedge-tailed shearwater arrives about the end of March and stays until near the end of November. The Christmas shearwater is bringing out its chicks in the middle of June, when the wedgetails are just laying their eggs. The albatrosses, Christmas shearwaters and Bulwer's petrels lay their eggs on level areas of ground. The Bonins and wedgetails dig burrows for their eggs, each species at a different level of ground. Terns, boobies and tropicbirds come at different times during the summer and nest on the surface.
Thus it was a sort of continuous performance, and there was no time in the year when construction could be carried on without danger to the birds. The albatrosses refused to move from their nests in the face of tractors and bulldozers. Other birds, unseen in their burrows, were crushed to death, probably in great numbers. Terns, boobies and tropicbirds would move out of the way, but some would be killed, as would their young. All this was as unfortunate as it was unavoidable. Yet, the Navy was concerned about the situation, and I was among those called upon for advice. There was no easy solution. In fact, I thought it unsafe for airplanes to have large birds near the landing strips. A bird drives through the air at high speed when coming in to land on treeless islands, and I judged they would be a menace to the safety of pilots.
That birds, however, are adaptable creatures was proved when I visited Midway in June, 1945. I found that they had learned to modify their speed, and in other ways to adapt themselves to changed conditions. I was astonished to see hundreds of full-grown young albatrosses sitting in masses along the borders of airstrips and among barbed-wire entanglements. They were 60 thick on the ground that it was plain not many adults could have been killed by man-made obstructions during the seven months since the birds had arrived on the island. Construction was not the only danger to the birds.
About this Author
David is the author of many articles including Best Friend Quotes and also the author of Best life quotes
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