By AYLEEN CANIZALES
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
Following the successful Starship launch by SpaceX on Jun. 6, 2024, the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (CBBEP) issued a report detailing the damage to shorebird nests caused by the blast. The report, authored by Wildlife Biologist Justin LeClaire and CBBEP Director David Newstead, focused on nesting species such as the Snowy Plover, Wilson Plover and Least Tern.
The “South Launch subsite,” as the CBBEP report refers to the SpaceX launch site, is situated within Boca Chica State Park. Monitoring for the 2024 nesting season began on Feb. 23. CBBEP officials have noted a decline in shorebird activity in recent years coinciding with the onset of rocket testing and launch activities. Monitoring is conducted as closely as possible both before and after each launch to report on potential damage.
Prior to the Jun. 6 launch, a visit on Jun. 5 assessed the status of five Snowy Plover nests, one Wilson Plover nest and a “dispersed colony” of eleven Least Tern nests. Post-launch, six plover nests and three randomly selected Least Tern nests were examined for egg count and damage. All nine monitored nests had either missing or damaged eggs. Out of twenty-two eggs within the nine nests, only five eggs in four nests remained intact and viable. The rest were either missing or too damaged to be viable. Additionally, the lens of a monitoring camera was shattered by a piece of concrete debris.
CBBEP staff attributed the damage to impacts from small debris such as concrete or rocks associated with the launch. The report emphasized that this type of damage is not typical of predator interactions. Although shorebird nests are susceptible to predators, it is uncommon for “partial nest predation”, as stated in the report, to occur without the predator consuming all the eggs. The absence of predator evidence on game cameras, combined with the debris damage to the cameras, supports the conclusion that the nests were likely damaged by launch debris rather than predators.
The question of whether potential hatching occurred, accounting for the missing eggs, was addressed using CBBEP’s “floating” method. By observing the orientation and buoyancy of the eggs, they could accurately estimate their age and expected hatch dates. The report indicated that all plover nests in the “South Launch” area were at least 10 days away from their estimated hatch date, ruling out the possibility of natural hatching. This report is not the first from CBBEP regarding the environmental impact of SpaceX launches. A previous report on the Apr. 20, 2023, SpaceX Starship launch detailed damage from the launch to vegetation and a case of, as stated in the report, “one burned clutch of Northern Bobwhite eggs.”
When asked for a quote by the PRESS regarding the damage, LeClaire clarified that the goal was to report the factual findings and had no intentions of expressing opinions or comments on the actions of SpaceX.
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