After breakfast we loaded onto the Zodiacs for a bit of a tour of the island environs. The shore was quite dramatic with steep sides of naked rock and tenacious vegetation: palms, orchids, bromeliads, cactus, and other less exotic plants with an obvious affinity to the basic tropical paradise. And in many places, on both the rocks and the plants, there were birds, lots of birds! The Magnificent Frigatebirds were mostly on the shrubs. Here a few males would display their gaudy, bright red gular pouches in the hope of attracting an available or dissatisfied female. Most of these birds, however, were involved in the more serious task of raising a family. Since frigate birds nest year-round, we could observe tiny little chicks, fuzzy teddy bear chicks, and parent-breaking behemoths just ready to fledge. Parental tasks involve bickering with neighbors, stealing nesting material, soaring about in the sky, sitting on the nest incubating eggs or protecting chicks from hungry kelp gulls, and obtaining food. It is the latter that brings us to the bird in the photo.
The brown booby is a spectacular fisherman, we saw many of them plunge-diving. From high in the air they spot their prey swimming below the water's surface. Then they plunge like an over-weighted arrow, correcting for the effect of light refraction, and with a very high frequency, get their meal, for awhile. The frigatebirds, on the other hand, while capable of catching food at the surface or just above the surface, like flying fish, seem to prefer to steal their dinner. So why would the brown boobies choose to roost and nest in close proximity to a frigatebird colony? Obviously, because they live up to their name! Like Phineus and the Harpies, it seems like every time the booby gets a meal it either looses it or has it fouled by a frigatebird. Then why are we not hip deep in frigatebirds? Well, judging from the number of black vultures under their nests, I don't think they are very good parents, too preoccupied with kleptomania.
