North Seymour Day 3 March 9th 

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Looking toward South Seymour (Baltra) from North Seymour

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Tour Guide Angelica and r to l Mom and I, Bob and Sue Feldman, Ed White
North Seymour

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Iguana by a Cactus
North Seymour

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Land Iguana
North Seymour

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Dead Cactus
North Seymour

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Dead Cactus
North Seymour

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Dead Cactus
North Seymour

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Galapagos Dove
North Seymour

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Nest of the Galapagos Dove
North Seymour

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Death of the Iguana from Old Age
North Seymour

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Death of the Iguana from Old Age
North Seymour

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Frigate
Mother and Chick in a Nest
North Seymour

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Blue Footed Booby
North Seymour

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Blue Footed Booby
North Seymour

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Blue Footed Booby Scratching His or Her Ear
North Seymour

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Blue Footed Booby Mating Dance
San Cristobal
Courtesy Jorge Pigann

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Beautiful Blue Footed Booby Nest with Radiating Decoration created from Excrement
San Cristobal Courtesy Jorge Pigann

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Blue Footed Booby Nest with Radiating Decoration created from Excrement
San Cristobal Courtesy Jorge Pigann

 

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Blue Footed Booby in Her Ground Nest with Her Two Eggs. Note that the Nest is Surrounded (and Decorated) by Bird Excrement
North Seymour

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Blue Footed Booby in Her Ground Nest with Her Two Eggs
North Seymour
Courtesy Jorge Pigann

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Blue Footed Boobies. Mother and Child
North Seymour

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Blue Footed Booby about to take Flight
North Seymour
Courtesy Jorge Pigann

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Male and Female Land Iguanas
North Seymour

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Male and Female Land Iguanas
North Seymour

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Male Iguana
North Seymour

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Female Land Iguana
North Seymour

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Male Approaching Female Land Iguana
North Seymour

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Female Galapagos Lava Lizard
North Seymour Island

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Sesuvium
Depending on the season, the sesuvium ground vegetation changes its colour from intense green in the rainy season to orange and purple in the dry season. It is seen near the shore of islands.
North Seymour Flora and Fauna

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Land Iguana
North Seymour

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Land Iguana
North Seymour

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Sea Lion
North Seymour

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Sea Lion
North Seymour

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Mating Dance of the Blue Footed Boobies
North Seymour Island

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Mating Dance of the Blue Footed Boobies
North Seymour Island

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Mating Dance of the Blue Footed Boobies
North Seymour Island

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Mating Dance of the Blue Footed Boobies
North Seymour Island

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Walk Along the Shore
North Seymour
Courtesy Jorge Pigann

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Walk Along the Shore
North Seymour
Courtesy Jorge Pigann

Sullivan Bay, Santiago
North Seymour is a small up-lifted island close to Baltra filled with a spectacular profusion of wildlife above and below the water’s surface. The Magnificent Frigatebird is an opportunistic breeder and at any month of the year one may see males displaying their bright-red gular pouch to attract females.
Galápagos sea lions snooze in the sand. Blue-footed Boobies perform their courtship dance called ‘sky-pointing’. Marine iguanas and Galapagos land iguanas patrol the beach, while Brown Pelicans and Brown Noddies look for food in the shallow coastal waters. Walk through this spectacular landscape and afterwards take the opportunity to go snorkelling-perhaps even spotting the impressive whitetip reef shark.
Witness the marks Nature has left on the islands through its geological forces. At Sullivan Bay we will see lava flows dating back to 1897. Here the very high temperature of the molten material, as well as its gas content, had caused the surface to be quite smooth. The appearance this lava has is almost like frail rope and the technical term for it is pahoehoe (a Hawaiian name that suggests the swirls left behind by a paddle (hoe) in the water). Since the lava has not moved equally in all places, the design of the surface
texture induces one to see different objects and images in the lava.
Back at the sandy beach you might want to get ready for snorkelling. Apart from rays in the shallows, turtles are quite fond of the beaches and come there to lay their eggs.

North Seymour (SpanishIsla Seymour Norte) is a small island near Baltra Island in the Galápagos Islands.[1] It was formed by uplift of a submarine lava formation. The whole island is covered with low, bushy vegetation.[2]

The island is named after an English nobleman, Lord Hugh Seymour. North Seymour Island has an area of 1.9 square kilometres (0.73 sq mi) and a maximum altitude of 28 metres (92 ft). This island is home to a large population of blue-footed boobies  (TCV experience)

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and swallow-tailed gulls.

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It hosts one of the largest populations of magnificent frigatebirds (Fregata magnificens)

Male

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Female

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and a slow growing population of the Galápagos land iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus).

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North Seymour has a visitor trail approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in length crossing the inland of the island and exploring the rocky coast.

The stock for the captive breeding program of the Galápagos land iguana is descended from iguanas which Captain G. Allan Hancock translocated from nearby Baltra Island to North Seymour Island in the 1930s. This was very important because Baltra Island had a U.S airbase on it during World War II, while North Seymour, which has no people who live on it, and is only viewable today with an official guide who works for the Galápagos National Park.

North Seymour was created by seismic uplift, rather than being of volcanic origin. The island has a flat profile with cliffs only a few meters from the shoreline, where swallowtail gulls and tropicbirds sit perched in ledges.

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A tiny forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stand just above the landing, usually without leaves, waiting for rain to bring them into bloom.

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The island is teeming with life. While visiting the island, one may have to give way to a passing sea lion or marine iguana. Flocks of pelicans and swallow-tailed gulls feed off shore, and seasonally, Nazca boobies can also be seen.

North Seymour is an extraordinary place for breeding birds, and is home to one of the largest populations of nesting blue-footed boobies and magnificent frigate birds. Pairs of blue-footed boobies can be seen conducting their mating ritual as they offer each other gifts, whistle and honk, stretch their necks towards the sky, spread their wings, and dance?showing off their bright blue feet. Magnificent frigatebirds perch in low bushes, near the boobies, while watching over their large chicks. The frigates are huge, dark aerobats with a 90-inch (2.3 m) wingspan. Male frigates can puff up their scarlet throat sacks to resemble giant red balloons. Boobies and frigates have an interesting relationship. Boobies are excellent hunters and fish in flocks. The frigates by comparison are pirates, they dive bomb the boobies to force them to drop their prey. Then, the aerobatic frigate swoops down and picks up the food before it hits the water.

Lava Walk

Art of the Lava