The Mother Lode of wildlife!

5.23.18 Crabs, Boobies, Sea Lions and Iguanas Galore! 

 Our first dry landing in South Plaza is unbelievable - opuntia cactus, land and marine iguanas, sea lions, Sally Lightfoot crabs, blue-footed and Nazca boobies, frigate birds, pelicans, swallowtail and lava gulls, red-billed tropic birds. 


The sea lions were waiting for us as soon as we landed ashore at South Plaza. Check out these hilarious short videos:

 https://youtu.be/T_8J7iNlxPg

 https://youtu.be/1SQu9NF8pCo

 https://youtu.be/8rM23WwrjLk

 https://youtu.be/3LisxNckBwc



Sally Lightfoot crab






The land iguana makes its first of many appearances.



The skeletal remains of an angry land iguana.


Opuntia cacti.


Tammy enjoying the wonderful view.


Gigantic opuntia cactus.


Coastline.



Lava gulls.









Blue-footed booby factoids:
- during the mating ritual, males show off their feet to prospective mates in a high-stepping strut
- the bluer the foot, the more attractive the male
- a male booby will "service" the sexual appetites of up to 30 females. 
- the more "servicing" a male does, the more their blue feet fade in color
- if the males take a year-long sabbatical, the bluer their feet will become

Our favorite - the blue-footed boobies.





Rock pelican.


Nazca booby.








Back to the boat for lunch and a quick movie of the frigate birds in synchronized flight - riding the currents off the bow of the top deck. Amazing!

 https://youtu.be/BYk_rxs8T2g
Then onto Santa Fe Island to check out the manta rays, sea turtles, sea lions and white iguanas.



This one looked like a sock puppet.




Kodak moment (with our ship in the background).

Comments

  1. CarolynMay 30, 2018 at 8:41 PM

    The cacti are amazing! I didn't realize they could be so tall...or lool like trees!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LorettaJune 13, 2018 at 8:33 AM

    Loved all the sea creatures and of course the birds!

    ReplyDelete

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