Today we all had a wonderful day on Española. In the morning we landed at Punta Suarez located in the northwestern tip of the island. This place is one of the most spectacular ones in terms of wildlife in the whole archipelago. Española, also known as Hood, is home for many interesting species of animals. Some of them are found just there! They are endemic to the island. During the walk we could see all of them, Hood marine iguanas, Hood lava lizards, Hood mockingbirds and the favorite of all, the waved albatross (seen in the picture).
There are 13 species of albatrosses in the world. The waved albatross (Diomedea irrorata) is the only one that nests in the tropics. Española is a very flat island surrounded by high cliffs and strong winds, ideal conditions to become the favorite airport for these magnificent creatures. Albatrosses are big birds with a wingspan of 2,2 meters (7 feet).
Albatrosses are "designed" to fly in the open oceans. They have problems landing and taking off because of their weight - an average an adult bird weights 3 to 4 kilos (7 to 9 pounds). Therefore they look very clumsy when walking on land. In addition, their big feet make them waddle from side to side. This comical walk is a delight for our visitors, you can tell they are not made for it, especially on the rocky terrain of Española. Taking off and landing are very difficult tasks for these big birds. Before landing, albatrosses make many attempts, up to 30! If they fail in one of the attempts they could have serious injuries. Taking off is difficult as well, some individuals, depending on how strong the winds are, must run up from 60 to 120 feet before they finally take off. But, the southern part of the island is high and windy and the albatrosses just have to walk until the edge of the cliff and jump off in the air.
