Genovesa
This morning, when we ventured out to the coral beach of Genovesa, we were delighted to find that there were still male frigates displaying! As each day goes by they have ever-diminishing chances of attracting and charming a mate for this breeding season. It is getting late in the year for them to be puffed and cooing at the females that fly past, but one has to admire their stamina and determination, at the very least. We watched several frigates feeding tiny fluffy chicks. Many others were incubating, seated on sloppy twig platform nests where we know they had a single bright white egg hidden beneath them.
I headed for the first red mangrove bush in the corner, behind the beach, to check on the booby that I had photographed last week as it paused during nest building. Yep, it was as I had hoped it would be– incubating an egg. I eagerly took photos from many angles with the ship’s digital camera, but once back on board I discovered that I had taken them all with the lens cap on! OOPS…
Our afternoon options were: a hike through a palo santo forest and then along the lava fields where we found more boobies and frigates, or a Zodiac cruise at the base of the lava cliffs. The biggest thrill on the walk was a couple of short eared owls, one right smack in the trail! Red-billed tropicbirds seen flying into and defending their cliffside nest holes and a hysterical Nazca booby taking a long and exuberant bath were the highlights of the panga ride. Happily, I had a chance to hurry back to the beach following the panga ride and so managed to get a photo of my red-footed booby friend as he or she sat peacefully incubating. As the sun set with oranges and pinks, we navigated to a calm anchorage behind the island. A glorious finale to yet another magical day in Las Islas Encantadas!
This morning, when we ventured out to the coral beach of Genovesa, we were delighted to find that there were still male frigates displaying! As each day goes by they have ever-diminishing chances of attracting and charming a mate for this breeding season. It is getting late in the year for them to be puffed and cooing at the females that fly past, but one has to admire their stamina and determination, at the very least. We watched several frigates feeding tiny fluffy chicks. Many others were incubating, seated on sloppy twig platform nests where we know they had a single bright white egg hidden beneath them.
I headed for the first red mangrove bush in the corner, behind the beach, to check on the booby that I had photographed last week as it paused during nest building. Yep, it was as I had hoped it would be– incubating an egg. I eagerly took photos from many angles with the ship’s digital camera, but once back on board I discovered that I had taken them all with the lens cap on! OOPS…
Our afternoon options were: a hike through a palo santo forest and then along the lava fields where we found more boobies and frigates, or a Zodiac cruise at the base of the lava cliffs. The biggest thrill on the walk was a couple of short eared owls, one right smack in the trail! Red-billed tropicbirds seen flying into and defending their cliffside nest holes and a hysterical Nazca booby taking a long and exuberant bath were the highlights of the panga ride. Happily, I had a chance to hurry back to the beach following the panga ride and so managed to get a photo of my red-footed booby friend as he or she sat peacefully incubating. As the sun set with oranges and pinks, we navigated to a calm anchorage behind the island. A glorious finale to yet another magical day in Las Islas Encantadas!
