Thursday, 11 August 2016

Floreana Island – Blue Footed Boobies and Frigate birds, Galapagos

The highest ranked bird on our wish list was the Blue Footed Booby. We were hoping to see one close by and we did several times. Blue Footed Boobies only live on the Galapagos Islands and some regions of the Pacific west coast. These are really big birds with a wing span of up to 1,5m. You can compare it with a large seagull. Their feet are however blue, which make them very special. The males know this and to impress female boobies (I mean the birds), they lift their feet high in the air when walking around.

An even larger bird is the Frigate bird, mainly black with brown feathers. You see them everywhere and they follow the ship, gliding above it. Some males have a red chest but we did not see this. Their tale is split like swallow. We hope you like the pictures taken with the 600mm lens.

De hoogst gerangschikte vogel op ons verlanglijstje was de Blue Footed Booby. We hoopten er één van dichtbij te kunnen zien en dit lukte. Blue Footed Boobies leven enkel op de Galapagos eilanden en enkele regio’s aan de west kant van de Stille Oceaan. Het zijn grote vogels met een vleugel spanwijdte van ongeveer 1,5 meter. Je kan het vergelijken met een grote meeuw. Hun poten zijn echter fel blauw, wat hun speciaal maakt. De mannetjes weten dit en om de vrouwelijk boobies (hiermee bedoelen we de vogels) te imponeren, heffen ze hun poten hoog in de lucht terwijl ze wandelen. 

Een zelfs nog grotere vogel is de Frigate met hoofdzakelijk zwarte en bruine veren. Je ziet ze overal en volgen het schip, zwevende in de lucht. Sommige mannetjes hebben een rode borst maar dat hebben we niet gezien. Hun staart is gesplitst zoals bij de zwaluwen. We hopen dat je onze foto’s getrokken met de 600mm lens leuk vind. 
 
Floreana Island

Blue Footed Booby

Blue Footed Booby

Blue Footed Booby

Blue Footed Booby

Blue Footed Booby

Blue Footed Booby

Floreana Galapagos

Floreana Galapagos dunes

Floreana Galapagos

Frigate Bird

Frigate Bird

Frigate Bird

Previous Galapagos article: Snorkeling with Sea Lions on Floreana Island

Previous Bird article: Pelicans and Flamingos on Floreana Island

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9 comments:

  1. prachtig, zo in volle vlucht Filip

    groeten

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  2. You are in top form today, Filip! Well, of course because of so many boobies...Your fierce flying shots of the frigate are superb! And I love the boobie close ups. Crystal clear shots are all outstanding!

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  3. The Blue Footed Booby is a handsome bird, and what a great photo of the Frigate Bird in flight.

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  4. beautiful pictures of nature... :) regards :)

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  5. wow that place is looking so beautiful and you captured amazing photos of that beautiful place. Taj Mahal Tour By Car

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  6. Fabulous shots. Love the one with the male lifting up his foot. Isn't a 600mm lens heavy to travel with?

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  7. I had never heard of birds called boobies and love the blue feet :-)

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