Española
Right now Española Island is at its absolute best! This morning’s hike was a cornucopia of sights, sensations and experiences. The unforgettable blue-footed boobies were everywhere. They look for all the world as if they have stepped into a bucket of bright blue latex paint. But what is particularly wonderful about boobies is that we don’t just see them as we hike along the lava boulder strewn trail at Punta Suarez: we really get to know them! We watch them in their comical courtship, we hear them whistle and honk, we see them dutifully incubating their eggs and gently tending their tiny chicks. This is the true marvel of these wonderful islands – that we are accepted by the bird and animal inhabitants as if we were just another “neighbor.” The animals go about their natural behavior as if we weren’t even present.
Sometimes though, the animals do interact with us. During our afternoon visit, several young bull sea lions were attracted to the group of children that were swimming in the turquoise waters off their white sand beach. The juvenile male pictured here repeatedly chased and dodged the wetsuit-clad kids and truly seemed to be challenging them to try to swim with the grace and agility that he could.
Right now Española Island is at its absolute best! This morning’s hike was a cornucopia of sights, sensations and experiences. The unforgettable blue-footed boobies were everywhere. They look for all the world as if they have stepped into a bucket of bright blue latex paint. But what is particularly wonderful about boobies is that we don’t just see them as we hike along the lava boulder strewn trail at Punta Suarez: we really get to know them! We watch them in their comical courtship, we hear them whistle and honk, we see them dutifully incubating their eggs and gently tending their tiny chicks. This is the true marvel of these wonderful islands – that we are accepted by the bird and animal inhabitants as if we were just another “neighbor.” The animals go about their natural behavior as if we weren’t even present.
Sometimes though, the animals do interact with us. During our afternoon visit, several young bull sea lions were attracted to the group of children that were swimming in the turquoise waters off their white sand beach. The juvenile male pictured here repeatedly chased and dodged the wetsuit-clad kids and truly seemed to be challenging them to try to swim with the grace and agility that he could.
