With an apology to our birder friends who have taken stunning pictures of birds from around the world, we have to be honest: we’ve never quite seen the appeal of birding. In most of our experience, seeing amazing birds means having to stand very, very quietly for long periods and then break out some sort of high-powered viewing equipment, like a scope or long camera lens on a tripod, to get a fleeting glimpse. It just doesn’t seem worth the effort. Kind of reminds me of eating artichokes (but that’s another story).
It’s oh-so-different in the Galapagos. Like most of the other wildlife there, many of the birds do not view humans as predators. Not only are they willing to let you get very close, but they’re carrying on an incredible array of mating, nesting, feeding, and preening behaviors right before your eyes. It’s enough to turn even the most hard-core birding skeptic into a true believer.
On our recent trip to the Galapagos, we were especially taken with three bird species:
The Boobies
There are three varieties to be found in the Galapagos, and we saw two of them – the ever popular blue-footed boobies and the tuxedo-striped Nazca boobies. We’ve seen BFBs before, on an island off the Mexican Pacific coast, but these are are subspecies endemic to the Galapagos. The Nazcas are pretty widespread.
The Waved Albatross
Albatross are the largest of the sea birds, and they’re so heavy and ungainly that getting airborne takes some work. But once they’re in the air, they’re poetry in motion. On Española Island, we watched them get a running start and take off from a 100-foot cliff, and then ride the thermals higher and higher. With wing spans up to eight feet (!) they can just glide, and rarely have to flap their wings. They were a sight to behold.
The Magnificent Frigatebirds
Yes, they were magnificent, but that really is the name given to the subspecies that’s endemic to the Galapagos.Not only did the magnificent frigates put on an aerial show when we were underway one late afternoon, dipping and soaring off the bow of our boat, but we were treated to a fantastic display of their nesting and mating behaviors on North Seymour Island.
With apologies again to true birders who have taken much better pictures, with better equipment – here are our favorite bird shots from the Galapagos.
25 Comments
Awesome Susan! I’m looking through these photos thinking, “How did she get my photos?”, lol. Nice job. Just processing my photos this week….lots and lots of good ones!
Ha – I know, right? We probably all have the same pics, more or less. I’d love to see yours!
love seeing how you got so close… it must be a wonderful experience for sure!
It was unforgettable!
I love it. I am a birder.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Stunning! We agree with you about birding. Birds are awesome and beautiful, but we just never want to carry around all the equipment. But we can’t wait to see them in Galapagos! Great pictures! Thanks for sharing
We look forward to seeing your Galapagos posts!
You are welcome! There were a couple of times when I cried out for my “big” camera and long lens. But I think we did OK with two iPhones and a point-and-shoot Olympus 🙂
Good to know. We will only have our two very old iPhones and a GoPro. I’m most excited about experiencing it. It was great to read you blog posts about it.
But did you see those blue feet dance. That’s when I fell in love.
Only at a distance, Sue. We were crying out for a long lens!
Your photos are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing your trip with us. What a place! What a couple that John and Susan! What adventurers! What an experience! Viva viva!
Ha – thanks, Bud! Love ya!
I just recently went back to view our own photos of our visit to the Galapagos Islands (which pale in comparison to yours) and had fun walking down memory lane. We were lucky enough to visit while the Magnificent Frigate birds were sitting atop their nests hoping to attract any interested females and we were absolutely blown away. The blue-footed boobies were playing hard-to-get but we did luck out with some sightings of the penguins and many more. Sounds like your trip was pretty amazing and a never-to-be-forgotten adventure. For use, it was a bucket list site that we never thought we’d get a chance to see and we still feel so fortunate to have visited! Anita
We feel the same way! But we want to go back 🙂 We have to stop that or we’ll never get to all the places we want to see in this wide, amazing world 🙂 And I’m sure your photos are fantastic – maybe we’ll get to compare notes someday.
The Galapagos islands are such unique place. Even if you indifferent to birds, you start to love them. Beautiful shots.
Thank you! We had the same reaction – the birds there are amazing enough to turn anyone into a birder.
i think the blue footed booby is possibly the most awesome bird in the entire world!
Ha, no argument there!
I told My husband that if he danced for me like that wonderful bird I would do anything for him. Of course I expected him to dye his feet an appropriate color.
Now there’s an image I’d like to see – Jake dancing in blue feet 🙂
I am no birder either and I can see you have so much fun with the birds there 😀 Galapagos is heaven for nature lovers!
Such gorgeous photographs! You’re so right about the effort birding takes…I try to take pictures of these beautiful hummingbirds at a farm nearby and it is hard work!!!! Would love to visit the Galapagos one day.
Thank you for your comment and welcome to our blog! Apologies for the late response . . . trying to get caught up.