Genovesa
I wrote about the swallow-tail gulls last week and I can’t resist continuing the story this week. More eggs are hatching, the tiny gray fluffy chicks are growing and there are now many big chicks in their black, gray and white juvenile plumage. One or both parents guard the tiny, newly hatched chicks in the day. These smallest chicks will sit very still, looking like guano splattered lava rocks, hoping to avoid the marauding frigates. The larger babies are beginning to explore the world around them. This several week old juvenile that I photographed was beside himself with inquisitiveness. He sat for an hour on our snorkel equipment, poking and pulling at the green net bag. When the guests gathered up their gear and went off to snorkel, he hopped onto my towel and pecked at my book, my radio, my sunscreen. He tossed a red mangrove seedling in the air and caught it with great dexterity. Curiosity is of course important in young animals – it is their way of learning what they can do with their bodies, what is edible, and how far they can go with the abilities they were born with. The young bird’s nosiness was incredibly endearing and although the entire day was marvelous – we hiked and snorkeled, bird-watched and swam – this episode with the playful gull on the lovely white coral beach of Genovesa, stands out in my mind as one of the trip’s highlights.
I wrote about the swallow-tail gulls last week and I can’t resist continuing the story this week. More eggs are hatching, the tiny gray fluffy chicks are growing and there are now many big chicks in their black, gray and white juvenile plumage. One or both parents guard the tiny, newly hatched chicks in the day. These smallest chicks will sit very still, looking like guano splattered lava rocks, hoping to avoid the marauding frigates. The larger babies are beginning to explore the world around them. This several week old juvenile that I photographed was beside himself with inquisitiveness. He sat for an hour on our snorkel equipment, poking and pulling at the green net bag. When the guests gathered up their gear and went off to snorkel, he hopped onto my towel and pecked at my book, my radio, my sunscreen. He tossed a red mangrove seedling in the air and caught it with great dexterity. Curiosity is of course important in young animals – it is their way of learning what they can do with their bodies, what is edible, and how far they can go with the abilities they were born with. The young bird’s nosiness was incredibly endearing and although the entire day was marvelous – we hiked and snorkeled, bird-watched and swam – this episode with the playful gull on the lovely white coral beach of Genovesa, stands out in my mind as one of the trip’s highlights.
