Otoque & Bona Island
We had sailed from Coiba Island during the night and arrived to the “Paradise of Sea Birds,” Otoque and Bona Island. During Colonial times, this group of islands was used by pirates and privateers to hide and prepare their attacks on the Spanish galleons. Today, there’s a fishing community found on Otoque and an incredible number of sea birds nesting behind it. Frigatebirds, brown pelicans and boobies are the new owners and inhabitants of these islands.
Right after breakfast we gathered our gear and went to the stern to load the Zodiacs for our morning tour. A group of five pelicans were inspecting the Zodiacs to see if they conformed with all the safety requirements to navigate throughout the waters of these islands. Once cleared, we boarded the Zodiacs and went to visit the nesting place of these interesting sea birds. The pelicans are unmistakable: large birds with short legs, long and ample wings, long necks, and large, straight bills with a huge gular pouch. These gregarious birds, breeds in colonies and often forage in groups. The waters of these areas are perfect for them since it is an area of ocean upwelling.
Together with the pelicans were the brown and blue-footed boobies feeding their white downy chicks. They gained their name because of their fearlessness of man. Silent at sea, they dive from high to catch fishes and squid that are brought close to the surface by the upwelling. We could see how they catch them and then later we witnessed how they lose them through the harassment of the man o’war birds, the magnificent frigatebird.
Several male frigatebirds were adorning the trees inflating their red gular area like a balloon, when a sudden sighting on the horizon changed our direction! False killer whales had been sighted, taking advantage of the feeding frenzy caused by the upwelling. As we approached, many began bow-riding in front of the Zodiacs and singing for us.
What an excitement, what a morning! We had to continue our trip. So we left them behind and returned to the Sea Voyager. The Panama Canal was waiting for us to complete another wonderful day.
We had sailed from Coiba Island during the night and arrived to the “Paradise of Sea Birds,” Otoque and Bona Island. During Colonial times, this group of islands was used by pirates and privateers to hide and prepare their attacks on the Spanish galleons. Today, there’s a fishing community found on Otoque and an incredible number of sea birds nesting behind it. Frigatebirds, brown pelicans and boobies are the new owners and inhabitants of these islands.
Right after breakfast we gathered our gear and went to the stern to load the Zodiacs for our morning tour. A group of five pelicans were inspecting the Zodiacs to see if they conformed with all the safety requirements to navigate throughout the waters of these islands. Once cleared, we boarded the Zodiacs and went to visit the nesting place of these interesting sea birds. The pelicans are unmistakable: large birds with short legs, long and ample wings, long necks, and large, straight bills with a huge gular pouch. These gregarious birds, breeds in colonies and often forage in groups. The waters of these areas are perfect for them since it is an area of ocean upwelling.
Together with the pelicans were the brown and blue-footed boobies feeding their white downy chicks. They gained their name because of their fearlessness of man. Silent at sea, they dive from high to catch fishes and squid that are brought close to the surface by the upwelling. We could see how they catch them and then later we witnessed how they lose them through the harassment of the man o’war birds, the magnificent frigatebird.
Several male frigatebirds were adorning the trees inflating their red gular area like a balloon, when a sudden sighting on the horizon changed our direction! False killer whales had been sighted, taking advantage of the feeding frenzy caused by the upwelling. As we approached, many began bow-riding in front of the Zodiacs and singing for us.
What an excitement, what a morning! We had to continue our trip. So we left them behind and returned to the Sea Voyager. The Panama Canal was waiting for us to complete another wonderful day.
