It’s hard not to fall in love with the Blue-Footed Boobies in the Galapagos Islands, even if you don’t consider yourself a ‘bird person.’ These delightful creatures are engaging, absolutely beautiful and funny. They are known to do one of the most comical courtship displays in the bird world; pairs lift their feet one at a time and wave them in the air. Then they repeat it again, all while making a lot of loud noises.
The Galapagos Islands are one of the few places in the world where boobies can still be approached closely and here, they seem to have no fear of humans. Boobies fly gracefully, plunging from great heights into shoals of fish like airborne torpedoes, then they settle on the ground for a little dance, a little walk and of course to sleep. While on some of the islands, it may appear that there are plenty of them however, they’re the rarest of the ‘bobby’ birds, with only some 250,000 pairs left. Nazca booby sightings were also plentiful during our hikes, whose features include black and white plumage and an easily identifiable yellow bill.
They largely live off fish and they’re most common in Espanola (Punta Suarez), which is where we saw most of them. Below, in the first video, you’ll see the Blue Footed Boobies from a distance – flying in the sky, flying and then landing and walking. You’ll also see two up close, who later, get a little active. In the second video, you’ll see them kiss and flirt. In the third one, you’ll see them have sex and then do the mating dance.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
