One of my duties while working as a naturalist on Antarctic cruise ships was to point out to passengers the many birds which often flew behind or beside the ship in the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica.
Here are some of them:
These memories came back as I recently saw almost goose-sized birds flying beside our cruise ship in Caribbean waters when we were far from land.
These are Boobies. The English name “booby” was possibly based on the Spanish slang term bobo, meaning “stupid”, as these tame birds had a habit of landing on board sailing ships, where they were easily captured and eaten.
Boobies nest in colonies on predator-free tropical islands, especially coral atolls. They sometimes nest on hillsides but more often select sandy beaches or rocky cliffs without trees. When not nesting, they are birds of the open ocean, sometimes resting on the water when far from land but often returning to islets or manmade perches (buoys, channel markers, jetties) to rest. (allaboutbirds.com)
NATURE QUOTE
“Water water everywhere. Not a drop to drink.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Miles Hearn
Like being there!