When we awoke, we were anchored at Espanola and we immediately noticed that the island was yet another animal playground and the beach was littered with sea lions.
and, on another part of the island, the rocks were littered with everything else
The sea lions were just relaxing and barely acknowledged our presence.
Euan and I snorkelled off the beach and had a close encounter with a curious young pelican who floated over and looked right down on us from less than a meter away. If I held out my hand, this long beak with a hook on the end came shooting into the water. He was quite insistent and paddled after us for quite a while. A Galapagos hawk was surveying the beach and later on that day, we saw three of them hone in on what must have been a booby chick and they spent quite a time devouring it. Somewhat thankfully it was behind a rock so we didn’t see the gory bits.
These shots aren’t great but they show how the boobies dive and they do this in the 1000's (any of you who’ve seen the BBC series on Galapagos will have seen the footage. Incredible viewing).
They’re so quick it’s difficult to catch them
and when they enter the water they’re no more than a streak of black zooming through the air. When we were snorkelling we’d hear this ‘thwack’, see bubbles and realise a booby had dived within meters of us.
These birds are Hood mockingbirds, real characters and so tame. They’re on a hunt for fresh water and will climb all over bags (and you if you’re sitting down!) to see what you’ve got. You're not allowed to give them any. The line is that they've been here for 1000's of years without it so don't need it from us! Makes sense really although they're hard to resist.
More iguanas but this time dressed in their mating colours…
On the island is a Nazca Booby colony.
These guys don’t look as comical as the blue footed booby but they’re slightly larger and equally as comical in their own way and are so self-absorbed that we may as well not be there at all!
This guy was quietly whistling away to himself, making his own nest by picking up one minute twig and carefully placing it somewhere else then doing the same thing again. As far as we could tell, the net effect was zero but he seemed happy. Really sorry about the quality of these videos.
and, on another part of the island, the rocks were littered with everything else
The sea lions were just relaxing and barely acknowledged our presence.
Euan and I snorkelled off the beach and had a close encounter with a curious young pelican who floated over and looked right down on us from less than a meter away. If I held out my hand, this long beak with a hook on the end came shooting into the water. He was quite insistent and paddled after us for quite a while. A Galapagos hawk was surveying the beach and later on that day, we saw three of them hone in on what must have been a booby chick and they spent quite a time devouring it. Somewhat thankfully it was behind a rock so we didn’t see the gory bits.
These shots aren’t great but they show how the boobies dive and they do this in the 1000's (any of you who’ve seen the BBC series on Galapagos will have seen the footage. Incredible viewing).
They’re so quick it’s difficult to catch them
and when they enter the water they’re no more than a streak of black zooming through the air. When we were snorkelling we’d hear this ‘thwack’, see bubbles and realise a booby had dived within meters of us.
These birds are Hood mockingbirds, real characters and so tame. They’re on a hunt for fresh water and will climb all over bags (and you if you’re sitting down!) to see what you’ve got. You're not allowed to give them any. The line is that they've been here for 1000's of years without it so don't need it from us! Makes sense really although they're hard to resist.
More iguanas but this time dressed in their mating colours…
On the island is a Nazca Booby colony.
These guys don’t look as comical as the blue footed booby but they’re slightly larger and equally as comical in their own way and are so self-absorbed that we may as well not be there at all!
This guy was quietly whistling away to himself, making his own nest by picking up one minute twig and carefully placing it somewhere else then doing the same thing again. As far as we could tell, the net effect was zero but he seemed happy. Really sorry about the quality of these videos.
There were boobies with chicks all over the show
and this one was pretty bald! Nazca boobies lay two eggs and the first one to hatch waits until the second egg hatches then pushes the younger one from the nest. The parents sit there hooting (females) and whistling (males) away and do absolutely nothing.
Another chap was nest making before another came along and disturbed him and it turned into a booby standoff. You can see from the people in the background that these islands are more visited than Isabela or Fernandina.
and this one was pretty bald! Nazca boobies lay two eggs and the first one to hatch waits until the second egg hatches then pushes the younger one from the nest. The parents sit there hooting (females) and whistling (males) away and do absolutely nothing.
Another chap was nest making before another came along and disturbed him and it turned into a booby standoff. You can see from the people in the background that these islands are more visited than Isabela or Fernandina.
There was a cool blow hole in the lava
and in the more sheltered bay, a young sea lion played with an iguana (it seemed very one sided). We thought iguanas were very tolerant reptiles (maybe Euan was an iguana in a previous life?).
On our way back we had to pick our way through the sea lions
some of who were a bit grumpy so we had to be a bit careful. We visited at a perfect time of day, with the sea lion mums coming ashore from hunting and calling out to their pubs.
The light was just beautiful and we could have stayed a lot longer. Euan, James and I were last on board the boat as it was.
and in the more sheltered bay, a young sea lion played with an iguana (it seemed very one sided). We thought iguanas were very tolerant reptiles (maybe Euan was an iguana in a previous life?).
On our way back we had to pick our way through the sea lions
some of who were a bit grumpy so we had to be a bit careful. We visited at a perfect time of day, with the sea lion mums coming ashore from hunting and calling out to their pubs.
The light was just beautiful and we could have stayed a lot longer. Euan, James and I were last on board the boat as it was.
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