I’m bobbing up and down in a rubber dinghy beside a spit of rocky islands 1000 kilometres west of Ecuador, my life jacket soaked by lashing waves, and love is in the air.

Floating above us is a magnificent frigatebird. Native to the Galapagos Islands, the males of this species inflate their bright red chests to form a balloon half the size of their bodies, signalling to the females that they are single and ready to mingle.