Amazing Genovesa
Red Throats and Red Feet
we arrived at Genovesa Island overnight ... we hardly could not hear the huge anchor being dropped from the boat. but went back to sleep
big breakfast, then in the dingy for our Land Tour of Genovesa Island. we landed before 8am on a small sandy beach, this was a 'wet landing' ....that means you step out of the dingy into the water :)
Genovesa is a dormant volcano, of course, and we are going to walk what is left of the rim of the crater ..... it's in a 'C' shape, open to the sea ...
first thing we saw were Swallow-Tailed Gulls, .... with red feet ....
sometimes these Gulls feed at night ... the parents beek has a white spot on the top and the bottom, which helps the baby see where it's food is coming from .... nature thinks of everything ....
we immediately witnessed their courtship activities, .... they were preening each other lovingly :) .......
and maybe dancing ? ....
even though it was 8am, it was already hot ..... this one was tending to their egg, and very carefully picking out particular stones and placing them gingerly next to the egg to keep it at a perfect temperature ....
we started walking and soon arrived at the Giant Frigit Bird 'dating game center'. i've seen Frigit birds flying over Ft Myers Beach, and on Caye Caulker ... but i've never seen them during their courtship....
the male has the black head and pretty iridescent green feathers around his neck .... and ...during the mating season, he inflates the red 'sack' in his throat ....
it takes him 25min to do this, and it becomes a huge billowing red balloon ....
the really cleaver ones can make it in the shape of a 'heart' :) ....
for 2 weeks he remains inflated like this, waiting for a female to choose him. during this time he does not eat. after 2 weeks, if he doesn't find a mate, he becomes 'deflated' ... in more ways than one :)
the female has a few iridescent green feathers, a white chest and a red ring around her eye ...
these males were everywhere ... the bright red balloons were recognizable even from great distances ... these were quite far away on a cliff ....
so this is how it works ... the males sit on a bush or small tree and waits until they see a female fly overhead. he then rears his head back, exposing his 'offering', tossing his head from side to side, .....
and stretches out his wings, and makes strange sounds ...
the males are all in close proximity to each other; ..that's me behind the pink shirt :) ...
so when a females flies overhead, they ALL go into this routine ... it's quite a raucous ...
here is a video:
we continued to walk in quiet amazement ....
i wanted to come to Genovesa to see the Giant Frigit Birds with their 'red balloons' ... AND, i wanted to see the RED Footed Boobies ......
the Island of Genovesa, and a spot on the NE corner of San Cristobal, called Punta Pitt, are the only places that the Red Footed Boobies exist. it was quite expensive to do that Day Trip, so i didn't go ... which is why Genovesa Island was on my 'have to visit' list ....
and now i get to see them up-close-and-personal, ... their feet really are RED .....
although their red feet are their namesake ... i was mesmerized by their beautifully colored beeks ....
they were so striking with that defining black line ....
while the Blue Footed Boobies show off their blue feet during their courtship ... the Red Footed Boobies, seem to show off the underside of their beeks ....
i watched several couples ...
... they all tilted their heads back exposing the underside of their beeks ... as if to say ... 'hey look at this' .... or 'i'll show you mine, if you show me yours' ....
and they make a strange grunting sound too ... there is probably more to this ritual, but we didn't see it .... here is a short video of what i did witness ...
Washington told us that only 5% of the Red Footed Boobies, are white, (most are brown in color) .... they are not albinos, nor a separate species, ...
and they still mate with the brown Red Footed Boobies .... maybe that's what is going on here ....
there were many baby Red Footed Boobie Babies tucked away in the Red Mangrove trees ....
at various stages of 'ugliness'... or cuteness ... :) ....
the Red Footed Boobies can travel 200 miles in a day in search of food; ... and they hunt at night, ... which is why you don't see them diving into the water feeding, as i've seen the Blue Footed Boobies doing so frequently.
the Blue Footed Boobies are not capable of flying very far for their food, so that's why you see them diving for food close to shore.
when i was watching them in Santa Cruz i was wondering what their 'success rate' was, but could not find it on line. Washington told us that they are only successful in catching a fish 1 out of 20 times they dive.
we walked this far around the caldera, ... here is a view of the crater, to the right ....
and to the left .... it doesn't look like it, but we are pretty high up here looking down ...
while we were gazing, we saw a couple HammerHead Sharks in the waters below. Washington said we may be able to see them when we snorkel today; we were all hopeful :)
we also saw this pair of Swallow-Tailed Gulls tending to their little fur-ball ... they spend all their time trying to keep it's temperature regulated in the heat ... shading it with their bodies ....
these little chicks are cute ....
i was surprised that all the birds are in such low bushes, ... and so accessible .... we were walking up right next to them .... they paid us no attention ... that's one of the incredible things about the Galapagos ... most of these animals have never had predators, so they are not afraid .... AWESOME ! (unfortunately this does NOT apply to the fishes, who split for the nearest crevice in a rock, the moment you point a camera at them :(
there were also a few Nazca Boobies here ...... these are a Masked Boobie ... and there are Masked Boobies somewhere else; but these are different and arrived on the Nazca Current, only exist in the Galapagos; and no longer have any relationship with the other Masked Boobies.
they are very striking with their black and white, then a pinkish beak .... the Nazca Boobies can also travel great distances in search of food ...
i took 295 photos ... it was all so amazing. this is the BEST island ... i would like to stay here another day ... i think they should save this island for the last day ... i can't imagine how it can get any better than this ... they've set the bar really high by coming here on our first day ....
already, after only one morning, i am really liking and appreciating our Guide Washington ... he is extremely knowledgeable and i LOVE learning about the animals. i'm always asking him questions :( ...but i think he appreciates my interest, because he is obviously very passionate about what he is 'living'. he has an incredible talent for imitating the calls of different animals .... birds and sea lions ! .... and
is quite enthusastic when he does it ... very cool ! ..everyone likes him !
the day continues with Part 2.....
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