Day 2 - Gardner Bay & Punta Suarez
Española
What comes to mind is the passage, "I came that they may have life - have life abundantly." "Abundance" describes these islands best, I think. Yesterday, not even our first full day on the trip, and we saw a family of American oystercatchers, sandpipers, marine iguanas, San Cristobal lava lizard, Galapagos sea lions, and Sally lightfoot crabs. Overnight we sailed from San Cristobal to Española (Hood) Island. Thus begins our first full day in the Galapagos.
It was only when this Nazca (masked) booby got up to preen that I realized there was an egg being incubated. (Sula granti dactylatra)
In the coming days we would see two other species of Sula -the blue-footed booby and the red-footed booby.
Day 2 began at Gardner islet with some snorkeling practice. In the afternoon we arrived by zodiac at Punta Suarez, probably the richest wildlife spot in the Galapagos.
Even as I write this, some six years after the expedition, I remember how challenging the hike at Punta Suarez was. Being used to the groomed trails around the Santa Monica mountains, I was not practiced in boulder-hopping - and the entire hike (pretty much) was hopping from rock to rock. In our daily program guides (slid under our cabin doors overnight), we were alerted that this was one of the most arduous trails of the week - not recommended for those with balance problems. In retrospect, I'm glad it came at the very beginning of the week as, once I'd accomplished it, I was pretty confident in my ability to make it through the next five days. A few of our group had had knee or hip surgeries and they took a less rigorous loop. (In retrospect, now knowing how quickly one's physical capabilities can change, I'm glad I made the trip when I was 65 and not 70).
Endemic Species
Española lava lizard
(Microlophus delanonis)
In addition to the large iguanas, each island has its own species of lava lizard (Microlophus).
To see so many endemic species in such proximity was one of the "once in a lifetime" aspects of this expedition.
Obviously not a birds-eye view - but included so you can see how close we could get to these flighty birds. Note the shoe of one of our group to the right. I did not yet know how to take pictures using manual settings, so all these photos were taken with the camera set to auto. The settings were: f4, 1/640, 63, ISO 125.
Endemic Species
Hood (Española) mockingbird
(Mimus macdonaldi)
Endemic Species
Galapagos hawk
(Buteo galapagoensis)
Endemic species are those birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fish, invertebrates that breed on and live exclusively (except for brief migratory periods) on specific islands in the Galapagos.
Not an everyday sight - the Galapagos hawk with the Islander anchored offshore.
Waved Albatross - courtship to flight
Endemic Species:
Waved albatross
(Phoebastria irrorata)
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They Kiss
They Kiss Some More!
There follows an elaborate ritual of alternately bowing low, then raising their prodigious beaks to the sky - an amazing show of opening their beaks to either other - frequent "kissing" - rubbing and interlocking their beaks.
Girl Meets Boy
it's a lifetime commitment
Et Voilà!!
curly-headed baby! (hence the name "waved" albatross).
And after that exhausting ritual.......
Voilà!!
and two months later.....
HATCHLINGS!
and then, they're off!!
and did I know December would be the perfect time to see the entire panoply of the lifecycle of the waved albatross - no! But now you do! Courting goes on from December through April, when the eggs are laid. They're incubated for two months. The young reach adult size by December and leave the colony somewhere around January. They may spend brief periods along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru, coming back to Española to breed and reunite with their lifetime mate.