Genovesa Island, Galapagos

Genovesa Island was where we spent the first full day of our tour, and it also is one of the places that left a strong impression that stayed with me throughout the trip.  Genovesa is known for its population of nesting sea birds, namely red-footed boobies,

Nazca boobies,

swallow tailed gulls,

and frigates.

I visited at the right time, too, because we saw hundreds of young birds nesting.  Most frigates and red-footed boobies made their nests on short bushes, or low level trees,

while Nazca boobies and swallow tailed gulls reared their young on the ground.

With no natural predators, except each other in negotiating for nesting space and food, the birds roam free here. 

The island is uninhabited by people, and so remains in its natural state, free from most invasive species.    For the most part, the birds seem unfazed by our presence.  They note you, watch you a bit, more if they have a young to protect, but generally seem unfearful.  I took that to be a good sign that the National Park's efforts have been well worth it, and visitors to the island have been good about respecting limits.

There is something about these birds, though...  I can't tell if it's just their mannerisms, or in part their appearance, but I just find them somewhat funny!  Especially the Nazca Booby.  They look like they are either a little slow-witted, or extremely wise, and are amused by us!

 

I am sure we must look quite silly to them, traipsing around in large groups, each human striking a strange squatting position as they hold a black box out in front of their face, making strange noises with their mouths.....  It´s hard to know who will look sillier to the other.

On Genovesa, not only are your eyes filled with the colorful and plentiful birds, but boobies are particularly noisy, too, filling the air with a steady chatter.  Most of the time there is a clucking sound with the tone of a duck, but the rapidity of a chicken.  But when a male wants to make a point, either to attract a female or to ward off other males, he lets out a hollow whistling sound as he throws his head back, straightening his neck out upright.  I can only lichen the sound to a blend of a kazoo and the long, ribbed, plastic tube you whirl above your head.  That's probably hard to imagine, so here are some links.  You may have to look around a bit on the page, but each one took me to an active site.

Blue Footed Booby
Nazca Booby (Masked Booby)
Red Footed Booby
Swallow Tailed Gull

While there were lots of frigates, I found them to be a bit quieter, so these four are the more vocal of the birds.  There were hundreds of birds all around, so you will need to imagine all of these different calls, all happening at the same time, all around you in stereo.  Pretty amazing.

Though boobies may look a little silly, they are powerful fishermen!  I have watched cormorants back home as they dive in the water, emerging a few second later to gulp down their catch, but I have never seen the likes of these fishermen.  Unfortunately the video is too high resolution to upload right now, but I watched one blue footed booby dive repeatedly for about 5 minutes.  Just when you thought he was flying away, he would veer back, careening into the water with a solid -thunk- like a small boulder had been dropped in.  He popped up shortly their after with a small flap of his wings, lifting off the surface again, flying to between 15 and 30 feet up, before bombing downwards again. 

I had the pleasure of even watching some of these dives while snorkeling, which is a hoot.  I was swimming along, enthralled by watching some sea lions feeding, when I heard a loud splash 10 feet in front of me.  Looking up, I saw a trail of bubbles that extended about 15 feet into the water, and a booby, swimming his way to the surface.  I have to admit, that at first, it felt like we were under attack by some sort of localized bomb, but once the immediate surprise wore off, it quickly gave way to exhilaration.  I hope to see more of this in the coming days.  I have heard that if you are lucky, you can sometimes find yourself in an area where hundreds of boobies are fishing.  Cross your fingers for me!

But all in all, of my 8 days aboard a boat touring the Galapagos, Genovesa Island is still one of my favorite spots.  I think it is largely due to the proliferation of bird life, there are so many you actually need to watch your step because they won't move for you.  This juvenile red footed booby just stood in the middle of the path, and watch each member of our group as we each took our turn to shimmy past.  He was unimpressed.

 But I think it is also in part because of their personality.  They seem so unfazed...  Like they have a good sense of humor about the whole situation.  Nazca Boobies are definitely on my list of great finds in this trip.