‘Pirate Birds’ of the Tropics 180 | National Geographic

this wildlife refuge is on a remote
windy island between Nicaragua and Costa
Rica it’s dedicated to protecting
seabirds especially the large
populations of brown pelicans and
frigate birds have extraordinarily large
wing spans more than six feet wide and
can soar for weeks without landing they
can’t land on water because their
feathers aren’t waterproof but they’re
agile enough to forage from the surface
of the ocean they also steal food from
other species which is why they’re
called pirate Birds it’s estimated that
more than 200 pairs of frigate birds
breed in this area the birds thrive here
because of the wind and access to
fishing and parts of the island are
isolated from predators making it a safe
this species is not under imminent
threat but globally sea birds are in
decline because of habitat loss climate
change and rising sea levels here the
birds are at different stages from eggs
to almost ready to fly the parents come
back each day to feed their young they
tourists can visit the area on boats
from April to November but must remain
50 meters away from the island however
permitted biologists and researchers are granted access to the protected area