Genovesa Island
Our ship anchored inside the caldera of Darwin Bay, we started the day with a wet landing on a white, coral beach and soon learned why this peaceful place is also known as “Bird Island.” With more than one million birds, Genovesa is home to a great variety of feathered creatures – and right away we saw nesting Nazca boobies, greater frigate birds, red-footed boobies perched in red mangrove trees, and swallow-tailed gulls. After a short stroll along a sandy beach, more adventurous hikers continued along a rocky lava terrain to view nesting seabirds and a spectacular cliffside view of the entire caldera. Along the way, we watched damsel fish defend their feeding ground by chasing a quick-jumping sally lightfoot crab from their territory. We returned to the beach where we had ample time to swim, snorkel, and just take in the sights and sounds of Genovesa.
This afternoon, the steep climb up Prince Phillip’s steps presented an immediate reward. Less than 20 yards from the top stair, we spotted a short-ear owl eating a baby Nazca booby. Genovesa is one of the few places on Earth with diurnal owls and we were fortunate enough to see two of them today. Those who chose to take a leisurely Zodiac cruise scoured the cliff for more seabirds and noted the mating ritual of two swallow-tailed gulls. Throughout the day, we marveled at how close we could get to all of the birds – it almost seemed as if they were walking along the path with us. Our ship rocking gently in calm waters, we concluded another awe-inspiring day with sunset conversation and cocktails with our new friends aboard the Polaris.
Our ship anchored inside the caldera of Darwin Bay, we started the day with a wet landing on a white, coral beach and soon learned why this peaceful place is also known as “Bird Island.” With more than one million birds, Genovesa is home to a great variety of feathered creatures – and right away we saw nesting Nazca boobies, greater frigate birds, red-footed boobies perched in red mangrove trees, and swallow-tailed gulls. After a short stroll along a sandy beach, more adventurous hikers continued along a rocky lava terrain to view nesting seabirds and a spectacular cliffside view of the entire caldera. Along the way, we watched damsel fish defend their feeding ground by chasing a quick-jumping sally lightfoot crab from their territory. We returned to the beach where we had ample time to swim, snorkel, and just take in the sights and sounds of Genovesa.
This afternoon, the steep climb up Prince Phillip’s steps presented an immediate reward. Less than 20 yards from the top stair, we spotted a short-ear owl eating a baby Nazca booby. Genovesa is one of the few places on Earth with diurnal owls and we were fortunate enough to see two of them today. Those who chose to take a leisurely Zodiac cruise scoured the cliff for more seabirds and noted the mating ritual of two swallow-tailed gulls. Throughout the day, we marveled at how close we could get to all of the birds – it almost seemed as if they were walking along the path with us. Our ship rocking gently in calm waters, we concluded another awe-inspiring day with sunset conversation and cocktails with our new friends aboard the Polaris.
