#galapagosfauna

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Wait long enough in a mangrove swamp and you’ll see something magical. In this case, a small school of golden cownose rays. 

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Galapagos finch enjoying a fine cactus flower in the morning

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Please enjoy this video of what is probably my favorite animal behavior I've ever caught on film. These birds are two juvenile Nazca boobies and as you can see one of them is showing off an extremely impressive ability to toss and catch a small rock/dirt clump with their beak. This behavior is believed to be a form of play in young diving birds that serves to train the finely tuned motor skills they'll need to catch fish once they reach adulthood. Suliform birds are some of the best fishers in the world and after observing this level of skill it's easy to see why!

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I caught this magnificent frigatebird chick in the middle of an absolutely enormous yawn but he somehow looks even more ridiculous with his mouth closed

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Boobies definitely don’t deserve the unintelligent reputation they’ve been saddled with but I cannot deny there is something highly comical about the way they walk

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Here is a video of some wild sea lions playing a game with a rock for anyone who needs it today

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A male magnificent frigatebird (easily identified by the bright red gular pouch) offers a stick in an attempt to woo a taken female (the bird with the black head and red ring around the eye). The female's mate is clearly annoyed!

The white and black bird with the tan chest that looks on is a juvenile of this species, potentially the pair's chick from a previous nesting!

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For my final Galapagos post I wanted to share some of the intimate bird portraits I took in the islands. Can’t even express how amazing it was to see fauna like this up close

1 (Young adult Galapagos penguin)

2 (Male Blue-footed booby)

3 (Female and male magnificent frigatebird)

4 (Galapagos short-eared owl)

5 (Red-footed booby)

6 (Waved albatross)

7 (Courting male and female Nazca booby)

8 (Female magnificent frigatebird and chick)

9 (Galapagos mockingbird)

10 (Large ground finch)