Early this morning we entered Darwin Bay on Genovesa Island. Our ship got inside this caldera and anchored by the cliffs where we began our day with a kayak outing. The morning was calm and warm and we landed on a white sandy beach after breakfast. This place has several colonies of seabirds such as Great frigate birds, red footed boobies, and swallow tailed gulls.
This morning we got to see several male frigate birds with their bright red pouches. They were making several attempts to get the attention of the females by flying above them making loud calls and flapping their wings. Also and nearby there were some juvenile red footed boobies patiently waiting for their parents to bring them some food.
After this walk we returned aboard and got ready to go snorkeling along the cliffs of Genovesa. We saw several species of fish, a large school of Golden rays, and several guests also found scalloped hammer head sharks slowly swimming by the cliffs.
This afternoon we went ashore once more to Prince Phillip steps for a relaxing walk where we encountered several adults and juvenile red footed boobies, Great frigate birds, nesting Nazca boobies, and the top predator of the island, the short eared owl. This predator sat on a rock just about six feet from the trail and as the last group departed we saw it flying away into the Palo Santo tree forest where it disappeared.
The day ended with a very colorful sunset while some of the birds returned to the colony after fishing. it was a beautiful sight.
