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North Seymour Island
North Seymour is a small island near to Baltra, Ecuador. It was formed as a result of the uplift of a submarine lava formation. The whole island is covered with low, bushy vegetation.
Its name was given after an English nobleman called Lord Hugh Seymour. It has an area of 1.9 km² and a maximum altitude of 28 metres. This islands is home to a large population of blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. It hosts one of the largest populations of frigate birds.
North Seymour is quite arid and the vegetation consists of palo santo trees and saltbushes. It is especially famous for its seabird breeding colonies:
The tourist trail leads through main nesting sites for blue-footed boobies and frigatebirds that are active all year round. You will certainly get the view of the “sky pointing” of a pair of boobies. Their courtship dance, that is repeated frequently, is charming and comical at the same time. There are a few characteristics to tell them apart: the female booby is a little big larger, has smaller pupils and honks. The male whistles instead. Sometimes boobies decide that the best place for their nest is the trail, so be careful not to step on them!
On North Seymour the largest frigatebird colony of Galápagos can be found. There are some great frigatebirds (greenish nape feathers) next to mostly magnificent frigates (purplish nape feathers). The females chose their mate by its gular pouch.
Obviously the biggest and brightest red promises to have the best genes. For this reason, you usually come across quite a few males with their red pouch fully extended. Moreover the males also try to attract females by shaking their pouches or rattling their bills. The rocky coast is a favourite sunbathing site of marine iguanas and sea lions.
