Española Island
It seems as if the holiday spirit is still going strong on Punta Suarez as we landed this morning. The male Española marine iguanas were nodding their copper-oxide-green heads at each other and sidling sideways around each other to show off their red, black and green flanks. We have arrived at the peak of the breeding season for these creatures, and the males seem all on hyper-alert to the movements of their rivals. The females seemed bored, or at least unresponsive. In another month that will change, the positions will be reversed, and the females will be showy and defensive of their egg-laying territories.
We have to mention the boobies today as well. Nazca boobies are on eggs and some with chicks of varying ages, but the blue-footed boobies stole the show. Careful presentation of bright blue webbed feet to potential mates was combined with sky-pointing honks and whistles.
Amazingly enough, there are still Galápagos waved albatross to be found on land here on Española Island. This could be explained by the on-going presence of the southeast trade winds; but this will change soon, for sure. Already the water temperatures are starting to rise, even from one week to the next we can feel the rise in the temperature of a couple of degrees.
Under the sea surface the marine life led us on a dance of its own. New snorkelers and old enjoyed the undersea world in the afternoon, with a young green sea turtle being a particular highlight seen on our snorkel between the rock and beach. White, coralline sand, blue turquoise waters, copper-coloured sea lions. It would be hard to think of any better combination for a January day.
It seems as if the holiday spirit is still going strong on Punta Suarez as we landed this morning. The male Española marine iguanas were nodding their copper-oxide-green heads at each other and sidling sideways around each other to show off their red, black and green flanks. We have arrived at the peak of the breeding season for these creatures, and the males seem all on hyper-alert to the movements of their rivals. The females seemed bored, or at least unresponsive. In another month that will change, the positions will be reversed, and the females will be showy and defensive of their egg-laying territories.
We have to mention the boobies today as well. Nazca boobies are on eggs and some with chicks of varying ages, but the blue-footed boobies stole the show. Careful presentation of bright blue webbed feet to potential mates was combined with sky-pointing honks and whistles.
Amazingly enough, there are still Galápagos waved albatross to be found on land here on Española Island. This could be explained by the on-going presence of the southeast trade winds; but this will change soon, for sure. Already the water temperatures are starting to rise, even from one week to the next we can feel the rise in the temperature of a couple of degrees.
Under the sea surface the marine life led us on a dance of its own. New snorkelers and old enjoyed the undersea world in the afternoon, with a young green sea turtle being a particular highlight seen on our snorkel between the rock and beach. White, coralline sand, blue turquoise waters, copper-coloured sea lions. It would be hard to think of any better combination for a January day.
