Isla Lobos de Tierra, Peru
As our journey has taken us south from Panama we have left the warm, nutrient poor, tropical waters and entered the cold, nutrient rich, waters of the Humboldt Current. Today demonstrated perfectly the abundant richness and diversity of the waters through which we are travelling.
It began with a landing on one of the Peruvian guano islands, famous as a source of fertilizer. The hugely productive waters of the Humboldt Current support huge seabird colonies on these offshore islands. Through their excrement seabirds transfer nutrients to the land, and in this extremely dry climate this guano does not decompose or provide nutrient to a plant community, but instead accumulates. The guano trade peaked in the mid 19th century and fortunes were made by mining and exporting the deposits of seabird guano. The trade continues to this day to a lesser extent. On Isla Lobos de Tierra we found a colony of an estimated 100,000 pairs of blue-footed boobies and watched their behaviours of pairs at the start of their breeding season. A variety of other seabirds were also encountered, including the enormous Peruvian pelicans.
In the afternoon we steamed offshore in search of marine life. We found it in the form of vast feeding frenzies of blue-footed boobies, one flock of which was estimated to be four miles across. We also found marine mammals – southern sea lions, common dolphins, humpback whales and the biggest prize of all, a blue whale. While the views could have been closer, it was an extraordinary encounter with this rare animal. The presence of this marine leviathan and the dramatic displays of feeding seabirds provided some hope that the marine environment continues to be healthy and the basis of a rich and diverse ecosystem.
As our journey has taken us south from Panama we have left the warm, nutrient poor, tropical waters and entered the cold, nutrient rich, waters of the Humboldt Current. Today demonstrated perfectly the abundant richness and diversity of the waters through which we are travelling.
It began with a landing on one of the Peruvian guano islands, famous as a source of fertilizer. The hugely productive waters of the Humboldt Current support huge seabird colonies on these offshore islands. Through their excrement seabirds transfer nutrients to the land, and in this extremely dry climate this guano does not decompose or provide nutrient to a plant community, but instead accumulates. The guano trade peaked in the mid 19th century and fortunes were made by mining and exporting the deposits of seabird guano. The trade continues to this day to a lesser extent. On Isla Lobos de Tierra we found a colony of an estimated 100,000 pairs of blue-footed boobies and watched their behaviours of pairs at the start of their breeding season. A variety of other seabirds were also encountered, including the enormous Peruvian pelicans.
In the afternoon we steamed offshore in search of marine life. We found it in the form of vast feeding frenzies of blue-footed boobies, one flock of which was estimated to be four miles across. We also found marine mammals – southern sea lions, common dolphins, humpback whales and the biggest prize of all, a blue whale. While the views could have been closer, it was an extraordinary encounter with this rare animal. The presence of this marine leviathan and the dramatic displays of feeding seabirds provided some hope that the marine environment continues to be healthy and the basis of a rich and diverse ecosystem.
