Española Island
We spent the whole day on Española Island (or Hood in English), which happens to be one of the oldest islands of the Galápagos Archipelago. At 08:00 we set foot on Punta Suarez, on the northwestern corner of the island. It was a sunny morning and the island was crowded with wildlife. Wherever we looked there were marine iguanas, Galápagos sea lions, and curious Hood mockingbirds, unique to this place. This is also a great habitat for sea birds, which play an important role in the Galápagos fauna. Many of them were sighted from the cliffs. Tropicbirds, swallow-tailed gulls together with Nazca boobies gave us perfect photo opportunities as well as the chance to learn more about their behaviors.
We actually saw the whole life cycle of some of these creatures. We admired several of the courtship rituals of the Nazca boobies. We saw a few eggs being incubated by adults and also found some parents protecting their chicks from the elements and from the few predators of the island. We made friends with a several-week old Nazca booby. Since it is big enough, the adults do not need to be there all the time to protect it, so we found it alone along the cliffs leading to the blowhole. Everyone enjoyed the view of this beautiful little bird, all covered by white downy feathers. When we were about to leave, the bird tried to follow. It had enjoyed the shade that we had provided, and got a bit upset when we left.
Iguanas are also at the peak of their breeding season. In a few more weeks males won’t have anymore this wonderful turquoise-red coloration. It is only during the warm months of January and February that the iguanas of Española breed, so only now they become territorial and so colorful.
In the afternoon we focused on water activities such as the glass bottom boat, swimming and snorkeling, both from a beautiful white beach and around a rock, turtle rock. We all had a great time and came back home with a wide smile.
We spent the whole day on Española Island (or Hood in English), which happens to be one of the oldest islands of the Galápagos Archipelago. At 08:00 we set foot on Punta Suarez, on the northwestern corner of the island. It was a sunny morning and the island was crowded with wildlife. Wherever we looked there were marine iguanas, Galápagos sea lions, and curious Hood mockingbirds, unique to this place. This is also a great habitat for sea birds, which play an important role in the Galápagos fauna. Many of them were sighted from the cliffs. Tropicbirds, swallow-tailed gulls together with Nazca boobies gave us perfect photo opportunities as well as the chance to learn more about their behaviors.
We actually saw the whole life cycle of some of these creatures. We admired several of the courtship rituals of the Nazca boobies. We saw a few eggs being incubated by adults and also found some parents protecting their chicks from the elements and from the few predators of the island. We made friends with a several-week old Nazca booby. Since it is big enough, the adults do not need to be there all the time to protect it, so we found it alone along the cliffs leading to the blowhole. Everyone enjoyed the view of this beautiful little bird, all covered by white downy feathers. When we were about to leave, the bird tried to follow. It had enjoyed the shade that we had provided, and got a bit upset when we left.
Iguanas are also at the peak of their breeding season. In a few more weeks males won’t have anymore this wonderful turquoise-red coloration. It is only during the warm months of January and February that the iguanas of Española breed, so only now they become territorial and so colorful.
In the afternoon we focused on water activities such as the glass bottom boat, swimming and snorkeling, both from a beautiful white beach and around a rock, turtle rock. We all had a great time and came back home with a wide smile.
