Genovesa Island in the far north of the archipelago was our next destination. After a short Zodiak ride from the boat we were on land. Few birding groups get out this way, mostly because it's so far from any other island and takes a good long time to get to, and return from. But it's worth the effort. On this island we saw the only accessible colony of Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels in the world. They are active in daytime, which makes them unique in the storm-petrel world. And what a sight it was. There were thousands of birds actively flying about, trying to return safely to their nesting burrows to feed chicks. But why were they afraid to return to the burrow? It's because they are hunted by a specialized subspecies population of Short-eared Owls who are more than willing to snatch an unsuspecting storm-petrel as it darts into the burrow. It was quite the drama as we spent the better part of an hour watching the spectacle.
Short-eared Owl trying for a storm-petrel breakfast
Also on the island was the Genovesa Mockingbird, our first of the many mockingbird species we would see as we traveled the islands. Additionally, two other endemics - Genovesa Ground-Finch and Genovesa Cactus Finch were seen well.
Genovesa Mockingbird (iPhone photo)
Genovesa Cactus Finch
Genovesa Ground-Finch
Red-footed Booby
Large Ground-Finch (female)
Large Ground-Finch (male)
Nazca Boobies
Nazca Booby
In the afternoon we cruised around the island to Darwin Bay. There we did a casual walk along the beach, seeing some new birds, and we did our first snorkeling adventure!
Bob, your photos are NG quality. Wow.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve!
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