Espanola Island
This very small, but beautiful island is located in the southeastern part of the Galápagos Archipelago. It is a wonderful place to visit due to the great variety and abundance of animals that make this island their home. As soon as we got close to the shoreline, young Galápagos sea lions were playing in the water giving a great welcome to our visitors. During the walk we saw sea lions sleeping on the beach, and some other animals that really got everybody’s attention were the marine iguanas. These animals look like prehistoric creatures. The particular subspecies of marine iguana we find on Espanola Island is very colorful, they are black and red. Walking by the cliff sides we encountered a large number of birds. Nazca boobies were resting on top of the cliffs; while a large colony of blue footed boobies were inland. Blue-footed boobies are favorites for many of us due to their stunning blue feet. This is a great time of the year to visit this island because the boobies are nesting. The colony now looks like a big nursery; downy chicks are everywhere. For those who follow our daily expedition reports, I am happy to inform you that the twisted-beaked blue footed booby chick we have reported over the last weeks is doing fine.
We also saw the magnificent waved albatross. These large marine birds have chosen this island as their home because of the great landing areas. We observed many adult albatross resting on land. Some of them are still trying to find a mate, and are performing their highly elaborate courtship display. This morning we finally got to see one of the very first albatross chicks. It is a very cute chick and probably two or three weeks old. It looks just like a puffy, brown ball.
This very small, but beautiful island is located in the southeastern part of the Galápagos Archipelago. It is a wonderful place to visit due to the great variety and abundance of animals that make this island their home. As soon as we got close to the shoreline, young Galápagos sea lions were playing in the water giving a great welcome to our visitors. During the walk we saw sea lions sleeping on the beach, and some other animals that really got everybody’s attention were the marine iguanas. These animals look like prehistoric creatures. The particular subspecies of marine iguana we find on Espanola Island is very colorful, they are black and red. Walking by the cliff sides we encountered a large number of birds. Nazca boobies were resting on top of the cliffs; while a large colony of blue footed boobies were inland. Blue-footed boobies are favorites for many of us due to their stunning blue feet. This is a great time of the year to visit this island because the boobies are nesting. The colony now looks like a big nursery; downy chicks are everywhere. For those who follow our daily expedition reports, I am happy to inform you that the twisted-beaked blue footed booby chick we have reported over the last weeks is doing fine.
We also saw the magnificent waved albatross. These large marine birds have chosen this island as their home because of the great landing areas. We observed many adult albatross resting on land. Some of them are still trying to find a mate, and are performing their highly elaborate courtship display. This morning we finally got to see one of the very first albatross chicks. It is a very cute chick and probably two or three weeks old. It looks just like a puffy, brown ball.
