Sunday, September 20, 2015

A Tale of the New and the Old- Blue-footed Boobies & Yellow Warblers

Saw an incredible variety of new birds during my recent trip to the Galapagos Islands. I'll begin with a short post featuring the most entertaining bird seen, the Blue-footed Booby.  At the time of the bird's naming the meaning of "booby" was essential a clown.  Actually, they are a graceful with a stately posture (most of the time).  



And, they are fast flying --like dive bombers-- projectiles that can slam into the water at any moment when they see prey.  In once place,we saw them in group formations exploding into the sea to catch fish.  But, the most endearing image is of a male prancing about in a high stepping display.  Isn't he handsome?  Well, he surely is to the females.



Let's go to a short video that captures the persona of this actor. (Probably best viewed a medium screen size or smaller..)



 So, on our first day we saw this entirely new bird and fell in love with it.  Almost at the same time, we saw an old friend from the Northeastern United States.  There among the salt bush and the mangroves was the same colorful Yellow Warbler, only they call it the Mangrove Warbler.  Still a lovely find.



Now, I am not a "counter" out to tally up a large number of species so I found both of these birds entertaining as I watched how they behave in this new found environment.  It is truly amazing how far some of these tiny birds can travel to find  islands 600 miles from the mainland.

Keep in touch.

Paul

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