{"id":2205,"date":"2020-12-03T19:04:01","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T19:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/?p=2205"},"modified":"2021-03-18T10:55:17","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T10:55:17","slug":"the-waved-albatross-of-espanola-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toonsarah-travels.blog\/staging\/the-waved-albatross-of-espanola-island\/","title":{"rendered":"The waved albatross of Espa\u00f1ola Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The trail across Espa\u00f1ola Island to the cliffs of Puerto Egas requires a little effort. In places it is almost like walking on stepping stones, moving from one lava boulder to the next along the route. But the reward at the end of the path is enormous \u2013 and I use that word advisedly.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waved albatross is the largest bird in the Gal\u00e1pagos with a wingspan of up to two and a half metres. These birds are considered endemic not simply to the Gal\u00e1pagos, but specifically to Espa\u00f1ola. They nest in just two locations on the island: Punta Cevallos (which can\u2019t be visited by tourists), and Punta Suarez. Like all albatross they spend part of the year at sea. They begin to return to Espa\u00f1ola in March, the males arriving first. They mate for life, so the male returns to the previous year’s breeding territory to await his partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the stars of Espa\u00f1ola<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Waved albatross engage in a very lengthy, noisy, and complex courtship ritual, even if they are an established pair (although new pairs perform for longer). The dance involves bill-fencing, in which the partners bend, face each other, and rapidly slap their bills back and forth. In another step each faces the other in an upright posture, sometimes poising with bill wide open. The bills are then shut with a loud clap. Sometimes the birds will clatter their bills rapidly. There is also a lot of bowing, and parading around one another with the head swaying side to side in an exaggerated fashion, accompanied by a nasal \u2018anh-a-annhh\u2019 sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We visited towards the end of the breeding season, when pairs were already established and chicks hatched. But we were fortunate enough to see a few of these displays as couples reinforced their bonds \u2013 or in one instance, it seemed, flirted with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n