Wonders Along Punta Vincente Rocca on Isabela Island – Galapagos Islands

 

We saw many different, interesting creatures on this journey, and I thought I’d share some of them!

Jesus Bird

I don’t actually know the real name of this little guy, but I’ve heard him commonly referred to as a Jesus Bird, because of his habit of apparently walking on water!

Nazca Boobie Drying Wings

We saw Nazca Boobies before, but they were on shore where their wings were nice and dry.  This one had been swimming in the water, and apparently his wings got a bit too wet for his liking.  I thought the way he held his wings behind him to let them dry was so cool and interesting!

Sea Lion Soaking up the Sun

Oh, life is so rough for a sea lion in the Galapagos!  This guy just got tuckered out from swimming, and decided to rest by sunning himself on the rocks near shore – hope he got a good rest!

Sea Lions and a Blue-Footed Boobie

Here are more sea lions resting from their busy morning of swimming and playing in the surf…..and a new boobie to add to the collection!  See the Blue-Footed Boobie hanging out with them?  You’ll see more of him and his cousins in another blog posting.

Enjoy!



Meet the Boobies - Prine Philip's Steps - Genovesa Island, Galapagos

In order to reach the Nazca and Red-Footed Boobies, we first had to climb Prince Philip’s steps, a rather steep climb up lava steps to a cliff top.  Thank goodness for the handrails, albeit old and rather haphazard!  In any event once we reached the top of the cliff where we first spotted the Nazca boobies. 

Nazca Boobie Walking

The coloring on these boobies is just so perfect!  And, you can see they really aren’t afraid of us as this little one comes strolling practically right up to me.  We aren’t to approach them, but sometimes they approach us.  Nazca boobies tend to nest close to the ground, so we did walk around them rather carefully, as it was nest building time while we were there.

Young Nazca Boobie

During our hike, we came across this very young Nazca boobie.  As you can see, his coloring hasn’t yet fully developed, so he appears a bit ragamuffin.  Still, his very frank appraisal of our presence there was almost a bit unnerving.  I don’t know that I’ve had birds meet my gaze quite so directly before!  I was to learn this is something that can often be expected with the boobies!

Red-Footed Boobie in Tree

The other type of boobie that we found on this island was the Red-Footed Boobie.  This was my first sighting of one.  Their beak looks a bit bluish, doesn’t it?  Well, at times it can be almost vivid, in the right light!

Red-Footed Boobie Head Shot

See what I mean?  These boobies tend to nest and hang out in the trees, as you can see.  And, they fly much better than their cousins, the Nazca boobies, at least based upon what I saw.

Red-Footed Boobie in flight

I really like this shot, even if it’s technically not the greatest. He’s just taking off, but I love the feeling of him getting ready to glide thru the air.

Red-Footed Boobie in flight (2)

Here’s another fun shot of a boobie flying.  It looks like he was gathering twigs, etc., for the nest.

Red

Here’s another of those frank stares – I really love the lack of fear around people.

Enjoy!