Tower Island
This was the last day of the trip and for me, the final day of a wonderful month in Galapagos. A visit to Tower is a fabulous note to end on! Being a peripheral island, Tower is home to a large number of red-footed boobies. These members of the family Sulidae, of which there are three species that occur in Galapagos, are a bit unusual for boobies and gannets. Most boobies nest on the ground. We have two such ground nesting species in Galapagos: the blue-footed and the Nazca boobies. However, out of the nine species of Sula, only two – the red-footed and Abbott’s boobies - nest in trees and shrubs. Today, all along both the morning and the afternoon trails we admired white powder-puff baby boobies squatting on messy twig nests.
The great frigatebirds on Tower are also in the midst of their breeding season. There are still a few – now slightly desperate - males with their bright, red, balloon pouches inflated. They spread their wings, coo and tremble, as the white throated females fly over head. The male pictured here may not find a mate for this breeding season. Some of the female frigates have already laid a single egg and the pair will now take turns incubating until it hatches. In a few nests, the first tiny chicks have already emerged. By the time I return for another few weeks as Expedition Leader in late July, I am certain the frigate colony will be frantically feeding hundreds of demanding, fat chicks. Then both the frenzy of courtship and the peacefulness of the incubation period will have been forgotten for this season.
This was the last day of the trip and for me, the final day of a wonderful month in Galapagos. A visit to Tower is a fabulous note to end on! Being a peripheral island, Tower is home to a large number of red-footed boobies. These members of the family Sulidae, of which there are three species that occur in Galapagos, are a bit unusual for boobies and gannets. Most boobies nest on the ground. We have two such ground nesting species in Galapagos: the blue-footed and the Nazca boobies. However, out of the nine species of Sula, only two – the red-footed and Abbott’s boobies - nest in trees and shrubs. Today, all along both the morning and the afternoon trails we admired white powder-puff baby boobies squatting on messy twig nests.
The great frigatebirds on Tower are also in the midst of their breeding season. There are still a few – now slightly desperate - males with their bright, red, balloon pouches inflated. They spread their wings, coo and tremble, as the white throated females fly over head. The male pictured here may not find a mate for this breeding season. Some of the female frigates have already laid a single egg and the pair will now take turns incubating until it hatches. In a few nests, the first tiny chicks have already emerged. By the time I return for another few weeks as Expedition Leader in late July, I am certain the frigate colony will be frantically feeding hundreds of demanding, fat chicks. Then both the frenzy of courtship and the peacefulness of the incubation period will have been forgotten for this season.
