FEATURE
loaded a box of cucumbers and as we approached the island some were thrown overboard to attract the wildlife. Very soon we had 3 large green sea turtles swimming around the boat, which was a fantastic sight and I felt very privileged to be so close to such magnificent creatures. Having reached the shore we decided to take the path that took us up to the cliff face, giving us an opportunity to look at some of the birds nesting there and hopefully spot Humpback Whales off the coast. Our guide who was very familiar with the island advised us “to be careful of the boobies”, which at the time seemed a rather odd thing to say, but further up the path we were all surprised by the rather strange but stunning Blue-Footed Booby birds. I have always had an interest in wildlife and have visited many zoo’s over the years, but being able to walk no more than a foot away from the Blue-Footed Boobies was by far one of the best experiences of my life. After a few hours we boarded the boat again and were taken to a small coral reef, where we did some snorkelling. We were only in the water for a short time when a Humpback Whale and her calf swam past us, so we quickly climbed back onto the boat and set off in hot pursuit and fortunately spent another half hour in the whales company. Experiences like this are rare and I felt incredibly privileged to have been there and it seemed a fitting finale to our expedition.
Our final day in Ecuador was spent on the beach, relaxing and reflecting on what an amazing month we had. It was with much emotion that we said our goodbyes and set off for Guayaquil airport and the long journey home to the UK, a brilliant trip and one I will never forget.
Credits: The fantastic parrot photographs were all taken by Nick Athanas who has a website called
antpitta.com. Nick kindly gave permission to reproduce his pictures in the Parrot Society magazine, but I would recommend you visit his website to view more of his stunning pictures. Nick is American (born in New Jersey), Co-founder of Tropical Birding and a professional bird tour leader. For further information on Bird, wildlife & photography tours visit the website:
www.tropicalbirding.com
DONATE TO OUR CONSERVATION FUND…
CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/donations.php
BIRD SCENE 27
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