Our first walk was at Punta Suarez on Espanola Island, and I had the best surprise I could get as, lo and behold, the island was covered in courting blue-footed boobies (Sula nebouxii)! This area has historically been one of most important blue-footed booby colonies in the world, but we have not had such large numbers here for almost three years due to the 97-98 El Nino phenomenon. There were literally hundreds of birds scattered around the visiting area, many of which were right in the path, meaning we almost had to step over them! The booby pair in the picture is showing the usual complete indifference to the presence of visitors, which is one of the many things which makes a visit here so special.
The air was filled with the whistling of the male and the honking of the female boobies, many of the more drawn-out sounds signaling that sky-pointing was going on. This is one of the most spectacular parts of a dramatic courtship display, and is usually initiated by the male once he has chosen a suitable spot for nesting. It involves a long sound as the bird spreads out its wings and stretches its beak skywards, to fully display its magnificent plumage. The blue-footed boobies are also incredibly proud of their striking blue feet (with reason), and raise each one in turn as high as they can while parading to one another, striking all sorts of funny poses. During courtship the birds will often make one another offerings of sticks and stones, which they will ceremoniously deposit on a non-existing nest (a symbolic act probably left over from the days they still built functional nests).
I could have stayed on the island all day, surrounded by these wonderful displays on such a scale, and feeling great joy that the booby colony has returned to all its former glory.
