Birds mating in front of us, at only 10 feet away. They did not care about our presence, they did not care about the little quarrel of a frigate chasing red-footed boobies, nor about the waves breaking behind the basaltic lava that forms the inner rim of Tower Island caldera.
Swallow-tailed gulls, opportunistic breeders. Whenever there is food available, they just procreate. One chick at the time, and faithful for life. And they live a very long life.
Harris, a well known ornithologist who has been doing research on the islands for more than 35 years, banded a juvenile bird on South Plaza Island in the 1960's, and found the same bird 34 years after, perfectly fine, flying around the same cliffs.
The swallow-tailed gull is in all senses an exceptional bird. They are the only kind of gull that is not a scavenger, that fishes at night, and that pairs for life. And overall, they know nothing about fear. In front of dozens of visitors, and for about 5 minutes, they kept balancing one on the other, until they finally copulated.
What a privilege to be the witness of a long-life love among birds.
