Genovesa Island
Just yesterday a curious guest nicely asked me if I ever get bored explaining and answering similar questions week after week. My emphatic answer that came along with a big smile was automatically given: No! Among smiles and approval, heads nodding, I made myself understood.. I explained that after many years working as a Naturalist, I am not just answering questions anymore. I am talking about my life. I feel a sincere love and appreciation for nature. The Galapagos Islands are one of the best places to have the privilege to fall in love with nature. In a marvelous place like this archipelago, life is full of surprises. Some of them are spectacular, some of them unusual. Today, it is not the exception; we observed a very interesting sighting. A female frigate bird with two chicks! But what is unusual about this?
Frigate birds only have one chick at a time. The frigate’s breeding cycle takes far more than twelve months from pair formation to abandonment of the juveniles. It probably also reflects the species’ highly specialized method of feeding, which takes so long to perfect that the young must be fed for a long time with contributions from both parents. Frigate birds practice what is called “kleptoparasitism”. This interesting behavior refers to the fact that they hurry other birds, specially boobies, trying to steal their food and even nesting materials in the air! Therefore, frigate parents have to wait a long time until its chick’s body structure and skills are well developed to quit feeding them. This long period of post-fledging feeding shows that they have a hard time rearing a young frigate to independence. As you can understand, it is not easy for frigate parents to raise one chick at a time. With two chicks, the situation is even harder. In almost seven years visiting Genovesa Island I have only seen this kind of unusual sighting twice. Keep in touch and we will inform you with news and updates about this peculiar frigate family.
Just yesterday a curious guest nicely asked me if I ever get bored explaining and answering similar questions week after week. My emphatic answer that came along with a big smile was automatically given: No! Among smiles and approval, heads nodding, I made myself understood.. I explained that after many years working as a Naturalist, I am not just answering questions anymore. I am talking about my life. I feel a sincere love and appreciation for nature. The Galapagos Islands are one of the best places to have the privilege to fall in love with nature. In a marvelous place like this archipelago, life is full of surprises. Some of them are spectacular, some of them unusual. Today, it is not the exception; we observed a very interesting sighting. A female frigate bird with two chicks! But what is unusual about this?
Frigate birds only have one chick at a time. The frigate’s breeding cycle takes far more than twelve months from pair formation to abandonment of the juveniles. It probably also reflects the species’ highly specialized method of feeding, which takes so long to perfect that the young must be fed for a long time with contributions from both parents. Frigate birds practice what is called “kleptoparasitism”. This interesting behavior refers to the fact that they hurry other birds, specially boobies, trying to steal their food and even nesting materials in the air! Therefore, frigate parents have to wait a long time until its chick’s body structure and skills are well developed to quit feeding them. This long period of post-fledging feeding shows that they have a hard time rearing a young frigate to independence. As you can understand, it is not easy for frigate parents to raise one chick at a time. With two chicks, the situation is even harder. In almost seven years visiting Genovesa Island I have only seen this kind of unusual sighting twice. Keep in touch and we will inform you with news and updates about this peculiar frigate family.
