The bulk of the Ascension frigatebird population nests on a plateau on top of Boatswain Bird Island, which lies off the northeast coast of Ascension Island. The species formerly bred on Ascension Island itself, but the colonies were exterminated by feral cats introduced in 1815. A program conducted between 2002 and 2004 successfully eliminated all the feral cats and, as a result, two pairs of frigatebirds returned to nest on Ascension Island in 2012. In 2014 twelve nests were reported on Letterbox Peninsula at the extreme east end of the island.