Juvenile Frigate Bird, Galapagos, Photo

Juvenile Frigate Bird, Galapagos, Natural History Photography Blog

Juvenile Frigate Bird, Galapagos

View This Blog Post in Google Earth (How Cool Is That?)

View this blog entry in Google Earth
Latitude: 0° 23' 52.15" S, Longitude: 90° 17' 32.89" W, Coord: -0.39782°, -90.29247°
Filed under: Galapagos Diaries on 3/3/2009

On the final day of our 1996 trip (my first) to the Galapagos Islands, we made a morning visit to North Seymour island. (Many Galapagos visitors walk ashore on North Seymour, it is one of the popular land visits due to its proximity to the airport on Baltra.) Uncertain that I would ever see the Galapagos again, the visit was particularly poignant as it was the conclusion of one of the most exciting trips I had had in my life to that point. It was also one of the first times I was able to see frigatebirds up close. This striking white-headed bird is a juvenile magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens). the same species as the adult male that I mentioned a few days ago. It took me a while to confirm the identification; ultimately I relied on the characteristic blue ring around the bird’s eye. Fortunately, I was able to visit the Galapagos two more times with Skip (this photo of Skip was taken just a few moments after and a few yards away from the juvenile frigatebird photo), including once with Tracy, so have been able to see many more frigatebirds since I took this photo some years ago.

Magnificent frigatebird (note blue eye ring), juvenile., Fregata magnificens, Copyright Phillip Colla, image #02271, all rights reserved worldwide.

Magnificent frigatebird (note blue eye ring), juvenile. North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
Image: 02271
Species: Fregata magnificens
Location: North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador