What a day filled with mixed emotions! We were continuing on while the other half of our group would be leaving later in the morning. We were going to meet a whole new group of people a couple of our shipates were wondering if they would have new roommates.

In order to accommodate the quick turn over and still meet our needs to participate in touring the islands, the boat docked at North Seymour, which was a little islet just north of Baltra where the airport is.

We had an early morning wake up at 0600h. The plan was to be ready for a dry landing on North Seymour and return to the boat by 0800h for breakfast. Our friends were to have their suitcases packed and outside their doors by 9 or so.

We landed on North Seymour and the first sight we saw were those incredibly ‘relaxed’ sea lions, laying every which way and they had total faith that we would not step on them (silly sea lions!).

The sun was just rising and was casting tall shadows as we followed a trail that would take us to the nesting grounds of the Magnificent Frigatebirds and Blue-footed Boobies.

Along the way, the yellow-crowned night heron (# 232) and swallow-tailed gulls seemed to be just waking up. As usual, they showed no fear and allowed us to share their space with them. By this stage of the adventure, we were accustomed to being close to them and we did not worry about them flying away in fear of us.

This was the moment I had waited for! We were finally going to see courting behaviour of the frigatebirds and blue-footed boobies! I remember the sneak preview we got … the magnificent frigatebird flying with an inflated bright red pouch as were travelling toward the landing!

Apparently this is the largest colony of Magnificent Frigatebirds in the Galapagos and there were M. Frigatebirds as far as the eye could see. Male frigatebirds on land or in the air with fully inflated scarlet pouches, hoping to attract the attention of a female! During this courtship display it takes approximately 20 minutes for the male to inflate his pouch. We learned that the brilliant red is caused by blood vessels, and if the pouch were to be punctured, the bird could die from loss of blood. Once the pouch is fully inflated, it takes about 6 hours to deflate. Word has it that this might not happen during the same day if the male is unsuccessful in attracting a mate.

There was certainly a lot of ‘displaying’ going on. When a female was close by, the males would flap their wings, throw their heads back & shake them from side to side all the while calling out to the females as if to say: “look at me, pick me!”

Magnificent frigatebirds birds build their nests in low lying shrubs and produce a ‘single egg’. The parents take turns feeding the chick and it takes about 6 months for the young to learn to fly, then another 6 months to develop the precise skills it needs to be self sufficient in feeding itself. The photos of the large birds with the white head are the juvenile Frigatebirds.

We were told that it was the Magnificent Frigatebird that nested on this island, and we could remember that by observing the “M” on the female’s breast (# 417)

Seeing a lonely sanderling (# 277) among the frigatebirds and boobies, caught me off guard, but then I remembered that spring migration was in full force and this wee bird was on his way north. Even so, he certainly did not scoot out of our way as we approached him.

This is also one of the major nesting areas of the Blue-footed boobies, and the trail is their nesting area.

As we followed the path, it was exciting to see the Blue-footed boobies, as they too were famous for their courtship behaviour.

In photo # 312, you can see the characteristic ‘looking straight up at the sky’, tilting its head from one side to the other while having its wings tucked behind its back and lifting one foot after another.

In photo # 395, you will see 2 pairs of feet, the darker blue is the male. He is known as the 'whistling soprano and she is the honking tenor'.

Apparently they will lay 2 eggs, but only 'allow' one to survive. This is related to the need for food to sustain them. The weak chick is tossed out. They prefer to incubate the eggs on the bare ground; but, actually the egg sits on top of their feet to keep it cool.

These birds are also known for their ‘bullet-like dives in 2 feet of water! Imagine having accomplished this feat only to have a frigatebird pull on its tail and steal the catch right out of its mouth? Doesn’t seem fair does it?

I loved this island and did not want to leave it, but time was running out and we had to get back to the boat, have breakfast then take the short ride to Baltra where the airplanes were.

Shortly after breakfast, we bid a fond farewell to our friends as they left for the airport. We were sad to see them go and we were going to miss them.

If I were to do this tour again, I would choose the Sunday to Sunday tour to avoid the long dusty ride from the airport to Puerto Ayora where the catamaran was moored.

We had a couple of hours to spare before the next group of passengers arrived. It was nice to have this ‘down time’.

Once the new passengers got settled and we all had lunch, we got into the dinghies to visit the mangroves at Black Turtle Cove. We wound our way in and out of various coves and felt like voyeurs as we watched numerous Marine (Pacific Green) Turtles mating.

With the male’s flipper holding on to her shell, the female does the swimming for both and this can be a very tiring process, especially if there’s another male waiting for his turn! These turtles weigh between 100 & 200 pounds and can hold their breath for hours at a time. There is evidence that the females will lay their eggs on the very same beach in which they were hatched.

We also saw white tipped sharks and a few rays, but they weren't mating.

That evening we welcomed the new passengers aboard and had another ‘free cocktail' in their honor.
Three days to go and it will soon be over.