The Barbuda Frigatebird Colony

We hitched a ride with Solomon the water taxi guy and headed to the Frigatebird colony, the largest colony in the Caribbean.  Our friends from Ocean Star happened to arrive in Barbuda minutes before we headed on the Tour, so we had the pleasure of their company too.

We timed our trip to Barbuda well, arriving just in time for the Frigatebird mating season.   The boy birds have a red pouch under their chin that they fill with air to impress the girls.   When the girls fly over the boys put on a show, puffing up their pouch and flapping their wings to show off their wing span.  The girls pick the boys based on the show and whether they have picked a good spot for the nest.  Once a boy has been chosen, he sucks his red pouch back in - he only gets one partner each mating season.

When mating season is over, and the young have reached an acceptable age, the boys from this colony fly to the Galapagos to begin mating season there.