This morning we woke up in the northern region of the Galapagos Marine Reserve at Genovesa Island. Genovesa forms a crescent shape, with part of the volcanic crater having sunken into the sea long ago. This island is a magnet for seabirds, including the red-footed booby. This was our first opportunity to see the red-footed boobies because they are restricted to two large colonies in the Galapagos, one of which is located on Genovesa Island. The red-footed booby chooses to inhabit two sites in the Galapagos where the Galapagos hawk is absent; without our apex terrestrial predator present, the hatchlings of these boobies are less likely to be preyed upon.
7/3/2022
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National Geographic Endeavour II
North Seymour and Rábida
For this first full day, we started with a walk over North Seymour Island, located on the north side of Baltra Island (officially known as South Seymour). This uplifted island is also known as Bird Island. It is home to a nice community of marine birds, such as blue-footed boobies, two species of frigatebirds, and swallow-tailed gulls (the only nocturnal gull). For our afternoon activities, we snorkeled by a red colored beach on Rábida island. We concluded the day with a stroll over an iron-oxide beach. Along the trail, we explored a saltwater lagoon with sixteen American flamingos. We even saw some nests!
