Española Island
I just came back from vacations and I am very exited to see what has happened in the Islands while I have been gone. Today while visiting Punta Suarez on Española Island, we had the opportunity to see a big colony of blue-footed boobies. Last month we saw all these birds doing their courtship dancing; the male blue-footed boobies moving their feet from side to side trying to impress the females. Most of them have long since stopped their dancing and courting and now they have a different set of duties. They are incubating their eggs and protecting the tiny chicks that are between one and two weeks old. It was nice to see these little, featherless creatures weakly bobbing their heads and asking for food.
It seems that this year is going to be a good year for sea birds because the Humbolt Current is bringing a giant mass of cold water, plankton and fish from the South along the Chilean coast. This month we are also beginning to see newborn sea lions. Some of the female sea lions we saw today were obviously pregnant, so in the coming weeks we have a good chance of seeing one giving birth. I am crossing my fingers and my toes in hopes of seeing this happen!
In the afternoon we enjoyed different activities: we went snorkeling, to the beach and out in the glass bottom boat. The snorkelers found that the water visibility was very good and many species of tropical fish were seen. From the glass bottom boat we saw sea lions and diamond stingrays. Everyone on the beach, enjoyed relaxing on the fine white sand, surrounded by sea lions.
One thing that got my attention and made me laugh today, was the unusual manner in which a group of kids interacted with a sea lion (see photo). They were trying to get as close as possible to a sea lion that was playing with us underneath the glass panel in the glass bottom boat. It really was funny, and both the kids and the sea lion had a great time!
I just came back from vacations and I am very exited to see what has happened in the Islands while I have been gone. Today while visiting Punta Suarez on Española Island, we had the opportunity to see a big colony of blue-footed boobies. Last month we saw all these birds doing their courtship dancing; the male blue-footed boobies moving their feet from side to side trying to impress the females. Most of them have long since stopped their dancing and courting and now they have a different set of duties. They are incubating their eggs and protecting the tiny chicks that are between one and two weeks old. It was nice to see these little, featherless creatures weakly bobbing their heads and asking for food.
It seems that this year is going to be a good year for sea birds because the Humbolt Current is bringing a giant mass of cold water, plankton and fish from the South along the Chilean coast. This month we are also beginning to see newborn sea lions. Some of the female sea lions we saw today were obviously pregnant, so in the coming weeks we have a good chance of seeing one giving birth. I am crossing my fingers and my toes in hopes of seeing this happen!
In the afternoon we enjoyed different activities: we went snorkeling, to the beach and out in the glass bottom boat. The snorkelers found that the water visibility was very good and many species of tropical fish were seen. From the glass bottom boat we saw sea lions and diamond stingrays. Everyone on the beach, enjoyed relaxing on the fine white sand, surrounded by sea lions.
One thing that got my attention and made me laugh today, was the unusual manner in which a group of kids interacted with a sea lion (see photo). They were trying to get as close as possible to a sea lion that was playing with us underneath the glass panel in the glass bottom boat. It really was funny, and both the kids and the sea lion had a great time!
