Frigate birds taking a shower

We take a taxi up from the low lands to a lake up in the mountains of San Cristobal. The lakes up here are one of the very few places on the island where there are a permanent fresh water source of water. The locals don’t seem to use the water for anything but the birds do take advantage of the fresh water.

It is a fairly steep walk from the parking lot to the view point for the lake – but it isn’t too far so we make it up there quickly. There isn’t anybody else up here for the moment which is fairly typical for the islands – the number of tourist outside the main towns is very limited so we can enjoy the place ourselves.

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When we get up to the top there isn’t a bird in sight – but we wait for a bit and soon a few birds show up and then more birds arrive. The large frigate birds come here so they can get a shower and get the salt out of their feathers.

We may not be as close to the birds as we have been during the last week. But it is still fun to watch how these big birds manage to go down a bit into the water to get some of their feathers washed without getting the wings wet which will make it impossible for the frigate birds to fly.

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We do manage to get close to a couple of different Darwin finches which jump around at our feets. I guess they manage to spot a few grains in the grass to go some lunch.

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