The Brown Boobies of Cay Verde

My crew recently spent two weeks patrolling the southern Bahamas, and we spent some time anchored next to Cay Verde.  My Executive Officer and I spent some time exploring the island.  As we soon discovered, the island is inhabited only by birds, lizards, snakes, and crabs.  Brown boobies were nesting all over the island, most tending to a pair of eggs.

There is a small natural bridge on the southwest side of the cay, near the place where we landed.
My XO walks along the beach with most of the small cay visible behind him.
One of the thousands of nesting boobies all over the island
One of several snakes we saw, all of the same species. I’m sure they ate well, feeding on bird eggs. I imagine these snakes are an invasive species which probably arrived by ship at some time in the past.
Here’s the view of the northern side of the island, exposed to the prevailing seas
The CGC Pea Island at anchor, with a nesting booby in the foreground