Genovesa Island
Is this a protest march for bird’s rights? Is it a red-footed booby meeting? Is there any explanation for so many birds congregated together at our landing site?
Maybe the explanation is that they just wanted to be there to see us. They were young boobies exploring their New World, learning about its wonders and getting to know those who share their planet.
Red-footed boobies without red feet! What happened to their color? Actually they get the red only when sexually mature, and our friends in the picture will have to wait several months yet to start breeding. Right now they can use their time to explore the island and that is exactly what they do. They landed on the Polaris’ ropes to look down at people on the teak deck. They were on the bushes at the beach, carefully watching every one of us passing by with a camera or a pair of binoculars. When we opened our arms to them, some tried to land on us, getting so close that we could have touched them.
The first years in a species’ life are the years of eager curiosity…years of discovery. As human beings, we all fly back to those early years in our lives here in Galapagos. We feel as if we’re walking around for the first time on planet earth, fulfilled with the gift of wonder, just as these juvenile red-footed boobies.
Is this a protest march for bird’s rights? Is it a red-footed booby meeting? Is there any explanation for so many birds congregated together at our landing site?
Maybe the explanation is that they just wanted to be there to see us. They were young boobies exploring their New World, learning about its wonders and getting to know those who share their planet.
Red-footed boobies without red feet! What happened to their color? Actually they get the red only when sexually mature, and our friends in the picture will have to wait several months yet to start breeding. Right now they can use their time to explore the island and that is exactly what they do. They landed on the Polaris’ ropes to look down at people on the teak deck. They were on the bushes at the beach, carefully watching every one of us passing by with a camera or a pair of binoculars. When we opened our arms to them, some tried to land on us, getting so close that we could have touched them.
The first years in a species’ life are the years of eager curiosity…years of discovery. As human beings, we all fly back to those early years in our lives here in Galapagos. We feel as if we’re walking around for the first time on planet earth, fulfilled with the gift of wonder, just as these juvenile red-footed boobies.
