Seymour Boobies

Zipping across the channel near Baltra over to Seymour island, our group disembarked the zodiac onto dark lava rock to have a guided eco tour of Seymour island. I was instantly inundated with wildlife! Red and black Sally Lightfoot crabs scampering across the rocks, frigates and boobies and gulls in the air, sea lions in the distance. Life here truly is abundant.

Walking a little was down the path we encountered our first terrestrial creature - a lava lizard. It was approximately 15 cm in length and appropriately sunning itself on lava rock. 

Next up were the Magnificent Frigates. And magnificent they were! The males have a sizeable, red inflatable sack on their necks which they fill with air to impress the ladies. 

The females have a white chest and neck. Young are brown and white. Nestlings are the fluffiest little clouds. 

Then we saw boobies! Boobies just everywhere, out in the open for anyone to see. 

It felt weird to be saying “show us your feet” to the boobies. But the blue footed boobies delivered. A male was attempting to impress a female by whistling, lifting his blue feet and giving her suitable presents of pebbles and sticks. Adorable!

Speaking of adorable, look at these little baby birdy clouds of floof. 

All along the trail we encountered land iguanas. They turn brighter yellow or golden in colour when it’s time to attract a mate. This smug looking mini dino went cruising right up to me and between tourists to the other side of the path. Not a fear or care in the world. Like a true little Godzilla. 

Next up were the sleepy puppies of the Galapagos - the fur sea lions. They were incorrectly labelled as seals because they’re relatively small compared to other sea lions, but they have complete foot bones that enable them to walk. They eat roughly 10 kilos of food in a day, then sleep for 3 days on land. That would be like eating thanksgiving dinner and taking a massive turkey nap every few days. 

Update: we had a turkey for dinner tonight and I had a turkey nap after. Ha!