Genovesa Island
Morning dawned bright and sunny and there was not a cloud in the sky. Instead there were dozens of red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds soaring overhead. At dawn Captain Juan Rueda had lined up a pair of navigational aids on the island and cruised into the eroded and flooded caldera of Genovesa. He dropped anchor a few hundred meters from the steep cliffs and off a lovely white coral sand beach. We spent the entire day anchored in this peaceful spot, and throughout the day curious juvenile red-footed boobies perched on our light wires and railings, entertaining our guests with their antics and bothering the crew with abundant amounts of squirted “white wash.”
After breakfast we disembarked on the white sand and were greeted by great frigate males who were perched in the low saltbushes, cooing and quivering their inflated red gular sacks at each female frigate that flew above. The frigate courtship season is well underway and we saw dozens of the males in seemingly frantic attempts to attract a mate. Red-footed booby chicks sat on flat sloppy twig nests in some dense mangrove shrubs behind the beach, and frigates, boobies and swallowtail gulls called and flapped in every direction. No wonder this island is sometimes called “Bird Island,” it is home to nearly a million seabirds!
We swam from the beach in delightfully warm and crystal clear water, and several groups of our guests went by Zodiac across the bay to snorkel at the base of the cliffs. In the afternoon we had a choice of a panga ride and walk combination, or an extended panga ride. Everyone who participated enjoyed yet another hot and sunny outing where we were immensely grateful for a constant sea breeze. We walked along a cindery trail through a forest of dry palo santo trees, admiring and photographing more boobies and frigates. On flat lava fields the Nazca boobies were nesting and we saw eggs, recently hatched chicks and some fully fledged juvenile birds like the one pictured here. This ‘teenager” was as eager to check us out as we were to photograph and observe him. The highlight of the afternoon’s walk was watching a short-eared owl catch and eat a storm petrel just a few feet from us. It is a thrill and a privilege to be in a place where the wildlife accepts us as just part of the ecosystem and goes on about their varied daily behaviors under our inquisitive eyes.
Morning dawned bright and sunny and there was not a cloud in the sky. Instead there were dozens of red-footed boobies and great frigatebirds soaring overhead. At dawn Captain Juan Rueda had lined up a pair of navigational aids on the island and cruised into the eroded and flooded caldera of Genovesa. He dropped anchor a few hundred meters from the steep cliffs and off a lovely white coral sand beach. We spent the entire day anchored in this peaceful spot, and throughout the day curious juvenile red-footed boobies perched on our light wires and railings, entertaining our guests with their antics and bothering the crew with abundant amounts of squirted “white wash.”
After breakfast we disembarked on the white sand and were greeted by great frigate males who were perched in the low saltbushes, cooing and quivering their inflated red gular sacks at each female frigate that flew above. The frigate courtship season is well underway and we saw dozens of the males in seemingly frantic attempts to attract a mate. Red-footed booby chicks sat on flat sloppy twig nests in some dense mangrove shrubs behind the beach, and frigates, boobies and swallowtail gulls called and flapped in every direction. No wonder this island is sometimes called “Bird Island,” it is home to nearly a million seabirds!
We swam from the beach in delightfully warm and crystal clear water, and several groups of our guests went by Zodiac across the bay to snorkel at the base of the cliffs. In the afternoon we had a choice of a panga ride and walk combination, or an extended panga ride. Everyone who participated enjoyed yet another hot and sunny outing where we were immensely grateful for a constant sea breeze. We walked along a cindery trail through a forest of dry palo santo trees, admiring and photographing more boobies and frigates. On flat lava fields the Nazca boobies were nesting and we saw eggs, recently hatched chicks and some fully fledged juvenile birds like the one pictured here. This ‘teenager” was as eager to check us out as we were to photograph and observe him. The highlight of the afternoon’s walk was watching a short-eared owl catch and eat a storm petrel just a few feet from us. It is a thrill and a privilege to be in a place where the wildlife accepts us as just part of the ecosystem and goes on about their varied daily behaviors under our inquisitive eyes.
