Isla Isabel

Date: November 26, 2025

We crossed over from Baja towards the mainland but stopped at Isla Isabel on the way. Here is the island as we are approaching the anchorage:

Isla Isabel has a very large breeding colony of magnificent frigate birds as well as lots of boobies and tropic birds. Here's a sunset picture with the air full of birds:

The island has been a national park since 1980 and according to one of the park rangers we spoke to about 17,000 frigate birds breed on the island. We arrived at the beginning of the breeding season and observed the all-black males with their inflated red pouch that they use to attract the females:

The females are black with a white breast:

We went ashore for a hike around the island and saw frigate birds sitting rather ungainly in all the trees. Even right next to the trail:

The juvenile birds have a white head and underside:

An inflated male and a female sitting on something that looks like the start of a nest:

A female frigate bird on a branch:

We hiked to the highest point of the island together with a couple from Bermuda who were anchored in the same bay as us:

There was an amazing view over the whole island from the top:

The island is called uninhabited but quite a large number of rangers and helpers stay at the large house in the foreground:

The houses on the beach further back are temporary homes for the 20 or so fishermen that stay on the island to fish the waters around the national park.

If we look a little further to the right we can see Amanda and the other sailboat at anchor in the bay:

As we were looking towards the anchored boats, a whale breached in the background. It is just visible in behind the gap between the cliffs:

Apart from the frigate birds we saw several blue footed boobies parading around on their bright blue feet:

In addition to birds, the island teems with lizards and large iguanas:

After leaving the high point we hiked to the opposite side of the island via trails under the canopy. Here were are at the north western end of Isla Isabel looking towards a crescent-shaped islet:

On the eastern side are Las Monas sticking out of the sea: