Binoculars in the Backcountry: Galapagos - Arrival and North Seymour Island (Day 1)

Blue-footed Booby

Following our wonderful week on the west slope of Ecuador we were off to the Galapagos. This whole trip was very last minute for us. We had seen a Facebook post from Alvaro of Alvaros Adventures stating he had a few spots open for June 2021 but following years were booked. At the time if was only a couple of months away but whatever - lets go! The Galapagos was a must see destination for us, but hadn't risen to the top of our list yet. This was our opportunity and we jumped on it. We had been to Cuba with Alvaro and knew he ran a good trip, we expected this to be no different.

We met up with the group the night before our flight to the islands. After a group dinner we all went to bed with an early start the next morning. The airport in the Galapagos is on the tiny Baltra Island. The landing strip dates back to WWII for Americans to defend the Panama Canal from Japanese submarines. Flying in we got great views of nearby islands, including Daphne Major and Daphne Minor. Daphne Major was the site for biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant to investigate the evolution of Galapagos finches, documented in the Pulitzer Prize winning book, "The Beak of the Finch."

Baltra Island

Daphne Major

We had a little excitement when on our first landing attempt the pilot wasn't happy with the crosswinds and his runway alignment, so we did a touch and go-around. A second try was successful and we were on the ground.

Our first Galapagos Dove. We were so excited to see
this beauty walking around the outdoor restaurant.

A short bus ride brought us to our new home for the next week - the Nemo III - where we met the wonderful crew and our official park service guide Jairo Gusqui. After the usual tour of the boat, cabin assignments, and safety briefing, we were off on the short 45 minute ride to North Seymour Island. It was already late in the afternoon, but we spent the rest of the day on the island. Our introduction to the Galapagos had begun.

Nemo III

Nemo III, a motorized sailing catamaran

Our little cabin in the bowels of the boat

The volcanic activity creating the Galapagos Islands has been going on for at least 20 million years. Because of continental drift and several tectonic plates in the area of the volcanic hotspot, the ages of the islands differ considerably. The islands in the east are the oldest, most erroded, and farthest away from the hot spot, dating to over 3 million years. The western Islands over the hot spot are much younger and have active volcanos. Our extensive route on this trip included more islands than a typical Galapagos trip, stopping by enough islands that we were able to see nearly every endemic species possible, except for three that are on protected islands that do not allow visitation or are virtually inaccessible. Those that we missed were Sharp-beaked Ground-Finch, Vampire Ground-Finch and Mangrove Finch. But we got to see all the rest. And I'm going to say right now that the finches are for the most part very difficult to identify. After a week on the islands, we were all still scratching our heads trying to positively identify the ground-finches and tree-finches. Thank goodness for expert guides like Alvaro and Jairo.

North Seymour Bird List

North Seymour introduced us to the amazing tameness of Galapagos birds and reptiles. As we walked the trail we were within feet of frigatebirds, boobies, iguanas, and others. They paid us little mind as they went about their business. Watching the mating dance of the Blue-footed Boobies was way too much fun. All too soon it was time to return to the ship for the long overnight ride to Genovesa Island.