June 25, 2021. This was a really exciting day for me, and I'd guess most of the folks on the trip. This was the day we would get to see the Galapagos endemic breeding Waved Albatross. They get their name from the waved pattern of the feathers on the side of the bird.
We had arrived at Espaňola Island and were ready to go ashore. Those of us who arrived to the island in the first zodiac shuttle had a few minutes to wait for the rest. It wasn't long before we discovered the friendly habits of the Espaňola Mockingbird. By far the tamest of all Galapagos mockingbird species, these guys immediately came right up to us to say hello. They were pretty friendly with the marine iguanas as well as we watched them forage on the reptiles for what I guess were parasites.
Espaňola Island at dawn
Espaňola Mockingbird (iPhone photo)
Mockingbird perched on a marine iguana
We had landed at Punta Suarez. Once everyone was ashore we started our walk toward the other end of the point. This was only the edge of the albatross breeding colony (most was off-limits) but it was enough. There were lots of albatross, and other great things to see, most just off the trail for easy viewing. At the far end of our walk we arrived at a sea cliff, with spectacular views of the lava cliffs and soaring seabirds. There was a fantastic blowhole in the cliff that erupted every time a wave crashed in. Along the way we picked up another of the Darwin Finches, this time the Espaňola Ground-Finch. And we got by far our best looks at Galapagos Hawk, including a nesting bird not far off the trail. There were hundreds of marine iguanas, some lounging on the rocks, some swimming in the crashing waves as they made their way to or from their feeding areas underwater. We spent all morning on the island soaking in the sights.
On the way back we stopped to admire the mockingbirds again. They were just so tame!
Photo by Jairo Gusqui
And we got some really great looks at a few of the American Oystercatchers that hang out here.
American Oystercatcher
One of the rarer mammals on the islands is the Galapagos Fur Seal. They are much more difficult to spot that the abundant sea lions. We got a good look at a couple of basking animals during our walk.
Galapagos Fur Seal
After lunch we cruised the big boat around to Gardner Bay. Here we did a great snorkel around some small rocky islets just offshore. This video shows some of the great sights we had while swimming, even if the weather wasn't very cooperative. Of note in the video besides the abundant fish: we had two Golden Rays (how beautiful!), a White-tipped Reef Shark, a diving Blue-footed Booby that I was able to get some decent video of as he crashed into the water, and a sea turtle taking a nap on the bottom. Too much fun!
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