Genovesa

Sailing into Genovesa is a wonderful sight. All that remains of the volcano is about 75% of the rim. As you sail through the gap you enter the caldera known as Darwin Bay and are surrounded by cliffs. there is a small beach where a wet landing can be made. Genovesa is know for red footed boobies,


Galapagos owl, and frigates. The red footed boobie is the only tree nesting boobie. The blue footed and nazca boobies don't build nests but lay their eggs directly on the ground. Again, all the animals are so tame that you can walk right up to them and need to watch your step to avoid injuring the animals.


In this one red mangrove tree you can see multiple baby birds, both red footed boobies


and frigate chicks


Herons were also plentiful


The naturalist estimate a bird population on this tiny rock of 1.5 million birds. There are only seven species represented.

There was only one bird we hadn't seen, the Galapagos owl. We boarded the zodiacs and scaled the side of the rim. The owls are brownish red and blend perfectly with the weathered lava of Genovesa.


The stand in the lava and wait for petrel's to wander within striking distance.


As you can see, he wasn't a bit concerned about our presence.



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Location:Quito, Ecuador