Santa Cruz and North Seymour Islands
The Galápagos sunrises are often spectacular, and they usually reveal lots of surprises to the observer. As soon as the sun shines, most of the seabirds start their foraging activities. Each one of them focuses in specific targets, therefore different fishing techniques had been developed; perhaps one of the most interesting fishing techniques is the plunge diving performed mainly by blue footed boobies. Today, shortly after sunrise, we made our way to the harbor of Pto Ayora, and we couldn’t help but to admire these incredible animals already catching their daily meal at the bay.
It was not a bad start for a very interesting journey to come. We went ahead and landed on the Island of Santa Cruz, ready for a short bus ride that would take us to the highlands and where the giant tortoises roam gently through the forest.
We found several ones already migrating to the farm zone in search for water. The tortoise population in Santa Cruz is in very healthy conditions, and that was confirmed by the great number of juveniles observed among of the older ones.
Once before, tortoises were collected for food by buccaneers, whalers, and fishermen among many others. This action caused a dramatic impact on their population numbers, but we are happy to see that nowadays the restoration programs and the efforts to breed them in captivity had paid off.
It was during our way back to the buses when we overheard the sound of the male tortoise mating not too far from us. We got curious (you can’t blame us!) and went ahead to get a glimpse of it. The sound that the male was doing reminded us somehow the sound of a cow, but with shut lips (somehow I am picturing you trying to do it…)
We left the area happy to see that these ancient reptiles are doing well!In the afternoon, we explored the island of North Seymour. This is one of the best areas to observe large amounts of seabirds, usually nesting. At some point during our hike, we realized that we were surrounded by the magnificent and great frigate birds. The most of them were males with red pouches and producing an overwhelming sound to attract females.
We also found blue footed boobies performing their typical mating dance. This included whistles and a characteristic “wing stretching.”
Last but no least, the swallow tailed gulls were also having a display of their own. We observed a couple of them performing what it is known as the “double decker” while not far away, another couple was already taking care of an egg.
It was not a bad day at all, and I can tell that everyone enjoyed in many different ways, whether taking a picture or simply observing, we all had a great time!
The Galápagos sunrises are often spectacular, and they usually reveal lots of surprises to the observer. As soon as the sun shines, most of the seabirds start their foraging activities. Each one of them focuses in specific targets, therefore different fishing techniques had been developed; perhaps one of the most interesting fishing techniques is the plunge diving performed mainly by blue footed boobies. Today, shortly after sunrise, we made our way to the harbor of Pto Ayora, and we couldn’t help but to admire these incredible animals already catching their daily meal at the bay.
It was not a bad start for a very interesting journey to come. We went ahead and landed on the Island of Santa Cruz, ready for a short bus ride that would take us to the highlands and where the giant tortoises roam gently through the forest.
We found several ones already migrating to the farm zone in search for water. The tortoise population in Santa Cruz is in very healthy conditions, and that was confirmed by the great number of juveniles observed among of the older ones.
Once before, tortoises were collected for food by buccaneers, whalers, and fishermen among many others. This action caused a dramatic impact on their population numbers, but we are happy to see that nowadays the restoration programs and the efforts to breed them in captivity had paid off.
It was during our way back to the buses when we overheard the sound of the male tortoise mating not too far from us. We got curious (you can’t blame us!) and went ahead to get a glimpse of it. The sound that the male was doing reminded us somehow the sound of a cow, but with shut lips (somehow I am picturing you trying to do it…)
We left the area happy to see that these ancient reptiles are doing well!In the afternoon, we explored the island of North Seymour. This is one of the best areas to observe large amounts of seabirds, usually nesting. At some point during our hike, we realized that we were surrounded by the magnificent and great frigate birds. The most of them were males with red pouches and producing an overwhelming sound to attract females.
We also found blue footed boobies performing their typical mating dance. This included whistles and a characteristic “wing stretching.”
Last but no least, the swallow tailed gulls were also having a display of their own. We observed a couple of them performing what it is known as the “double decker” while not far away, another couple was already taking care of an egg.
It was not a bad day at all, and I can tell that everyone enjoyed in many different ways, whether taking a picture or simply observing, we all had a great time!
