Plenty plump penguins!

In an article published on the Galapagos Conservancy website, authors  Dee Boersma, Godfrey Merlen (long time CNH Tours friend), and Caroline Cappello  report having spotted a many juvenile penguins this year, indicating a very successful breeding season.  During their 2016 survey, only 1 of the 300 penguins they had spotted was a juvenile – indicating a catastrophic breeding season.   This year, during two separate monitoring trips, they saw many plump penguines, and the proportion of juveniles in their count was at 45%! They attribute the successful breeding to La Niña conditions which bring in cooler and more nutrient rich waters to the islands.  In a similar vein, our old friend Godfrey Merlen informed us that he has seen very successful breeding of blue footed boobies over the past 2 breeding seasons – so things are looking good these days for the sea birds.   For more information, click here .   Galapagos penguin on his/her eggs.  Picture by Dee Boersma