The Galapagos-Genovesa Island

After watching Hitchcock's 1963 film, The Birds set in SF, I have always had a slight fear of large amounts of birds circling overhead. I have even been attacked by birds once when I apparently walked too close to their nest. They flew out of the bushes and chased me down the street. Despite this fear, I consciously chose to ensure that Genovesa was one of the islands I saw on my cruise. Something about an island full of birds without fear of humans and without predators intrigued me. Few boats visit this island because of the distance and the remoteness made the island all the more appealing. Plus, I really wanted to see the red footed boobies which are most easily seen on this island.

The Red Footed Boobies are similar in size and appearance to the Blue Footed Boobies except in that they have red feet! The contrast in color of their red feet to their blue beaks to their either grey or white feathers showcase them as quite the rainbow.



The other Booby bird on the island is the Nazca Booby. I believe it is their slightly wide set and wide eyed eyes that make them appear a little stoned to me. They just wobble on by as though lost.

I think the bird below is some sort of heron. To me, he appears like a grumpy old man with osteoporosis.
The other interesting birds on the island, Swallow tailed gulls, color coordinate their red eyeliner with their pink socks.

The most flamboyant birds are the Great Frigatebirds. The males inflate a red sack on their chest in order to woo the women. Sometimes, the men peck at each other and pop each other's red balloon, which then means no mate for the male for at least a year until his red sack heals. When the female flies overhead, all the men flap their wings, inflate their chest and coo out. With so many male birds located so close to each other, the woman doesn't have to fly far to find a mate. I wish dating men in SF was this easy.



All throughout the island, the birds dominate the scene with their flight and sounds. The most dangerous of the birds are the mocking birds who are known to prey on unattended eggs.

After visiting Darwin Bay and Prince Phillips' Steps on the island, we went snorkeling near the cliffs. However, the visibility was very poor and the idea that Hammerhead sharks might be lurking below me as I snorkeled freaked me out. So, I didn't stay in the water for too long.

After a day and sky filled with birds, the birds did not attack me and I even grew a fond appreciation of them.