Genovesa

Yet another beautiful morning! We dropped anchor in the submerged caldera of Genovesa in the cool early hours following dawn. Those of us who were on deck before breakfast admired dozens – hundreds, of red-footed boobies, great frigate birds, Nazca boobies, swallow-tailed gulls, Galapagos storm petrels, Audubon shearwaters and red-billed tropicbirds in flight and at rest on the steep grey cliffs and in the bare palo santo trees. This is a nesting area for over a million birds!

We disembarked on a small white sand coral beach and our senses were almost immediately overwhelmed. The Polaris guests were surrounded by the frenzy of cooing and fluttering frigate males courting the females that fly overhead. This morning the frigates definitely stole the show. Many of the males are still without a mate and displayed constantly during the three hours that we were on shore.

While they were much less noisy and flamboyant, the red-footed boobies were also beginning to court and dance and pair up. The male pictured here had chosen a nest site and was displaying for all the passing females. Odd to see his brilliant red webbed feet grasping a mangrove branch. The red foots have prehensile toes and nest in the low trees and shrubs while the other two species of boobies (blue foots and Nazca) are ground nesters.

In the afternoon we chose between a walk and a panga ride. Many more sea birds, finches and even several short-eared owls were spotted. We shot rolls of film and recorded - permanently - the pristine beauty of this lovely island in our memories. It is a wonderful experience to be among wild creatures that ignore us and continue with courtship, feeding, resting and all their natural behaviours despite our close proximity.