Coquimbo Chile is a marine bird paradise!
It is home to the impressive Peruvian Pelican.
Peruvian Pelicans are twice the size of their northern cousins and stand up to five feet tall!
They somehow manage to look individually comical,
but sober as judges in a group.
These beauties were photographed in Coquimbo Chile, and on the Palomino and Ballestas Islands off the coast of Peru.
Cheers to you from the pretty as a picture Peruvian pelis~
Sulas, more commonly known as boobies live on both the Palomino and Ballestas Islands off the coast of Peru. This is picturesque Pisco Harbor, gateway to Islas Ballestas.
There are six different types of sula species. They are commonly called boobies because of the comical method in which they land, often stumbling over their large feet, and because they were incorrectly assumed to be not be very intelligent. These are quite smart Peruvian Booby adults and juveniles on Islas Ballestas.
Peruvian Boobies are confined to areas near The Humboldt Current, in Peru, Chile and Ecuador.
They have pure white heads and chests.
Blue Footed Boobies have brown heads and the famous blue feet. 50% of them live in the Galapagos.
The rest are distributed from the Gulf of California to Peru.
Sulas are rather tame birds, and will let a cautious and respectful visitor approach closely.
Cheers to you from Peru’s fascinating, and quite bright, sulas~
The geologically stunning Palamino Islands are off the coast of Callao Peru.
The boat trip out to visit them is exciting as the waters are rough, especially in the narrows between the islands.
Local fisherman brave the rough seas in their small pangas. There is an abandoned prison on one island reminiscent of Devil’s Island, and there are multiple old shipwrecks in the treacherous waters.
Like Isla Ballestas, which I will show you next, these Peruvian islands are a wonderland of marine mammals and birds, including Humboldt Penguins. The Patagonian Sea Lion nurseries, where mamas drop their babies off for group day care while they go off to fish, are especially fascinating. Doesn’t the adult baby sitter in the lower right corner look just a tad stressed? I can relate to how she must feel!
Child care duty takes a village!
These huge southern sea lions are friendly,
and very curious.
They seem to enjoy checking out the humans who come to visit.
Cheers to you from the remarkable Palomino Islands~
