Sea Conditions

Comments

Ecuador - Galápagos 2004 by Emmalee Tarry   About The Trip Leaders High Andes Galápagos Life on the Boat Galápagos Penguin Darwin's Finches Flightless Cormorants A Long Day At Sea Endemic Land Birds Espanolá Waved Albatross Final Days

Giant land tortoise

About The Trip
The trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands was organized by Bill Drummond and Karen Fay. The first week was spent on land in Ecuador. I only joined the trip for the second week in the Galápagos, but got in two days of birding in the high Andes around Quito. These two days and the reports from the those whose did the whole trip have convinced me that Ecuador is an excellent country in South America for birders. There are lots of birds, a good field guide, tourist facilities, and a stable government. I will go back to Ecuador.

Leaders We had plenty of leaders on this trip. Each boat in the Galápagos is required to carry an Ecuadoran guide. The guide on the first boat was very good at explaining the procedures for visiting each island and knew about the natural history of general interest to tourists such as giant land turtles, sea lions, iguanas and very big birds. The guide on the second boat was worthless. Arrangements in Ecuador were made by Juan Carlos who is a fairly good bird guide on his own. He is the owner with his wife of the lovely B&B El Jardin where we stayed in Quito. Their yard was full of birds. It was quiet, clean, comfortable accommodations with good food served right on the grounds. The artist for the book the Birds of Ecuador, Paul Greenfield was the main birding leader. Here Paul shows a dead finch found along the road to the enthusiastic and energetic Pauline.

The first day Diego Andrade (right), a partner of Juan Carlos took Daan Sandee, Noel Mann and myself to the Yanacocha Reserve where eventually the rest of the group caught up with us. Daan and Noel are traveling the world and I last ran into them in New Zealand. Quito is a large city located at 6000' in the interior of Ecuador. Yanacocha is even higher at 10,000'

Here I am at Yanacocha looking a little whipped. I am standing south of the equator and the far mountain range is north of the equator. Going from sea level in New Hampshire to 10,000 feet in one day left me rather breathless.

Here is a shot of the easy trail that winds along the side of the mountain at Yanachocha. It was a gradual uphill or downhill most of the way. We were there on a Saturday and were bothered by bicyclist whizzing past without warning. I eventually started walking in the middle of the track with my walking stick to the side to prevent them from passing without my notice.

There are hummingbird feeders at points along the trail and I was able to photograph this Sapphirewing with my point and shoot camera. The feeders were busy and made nice resting spots along the trail. Birds seen included: Black Flowerpiercer, Band-tailed Pigeon, Great Thrush, Hooded Siskin, Plumbeus Sierra Finch, Scarlet-bellied Mountain Tanager, Superciliary Hemisphingus, Red-crested Cotinga, Brown-bellied Swallow, Black Vulture, Variable Hawk, Unicolor Tapaculo, Band-tailed Seedeater, Buff-winged Starfrontlet, Shining Sunbeam, Sapphire vented Puffleg

On to Antisanna. Here is a band of wild horses grazing peacefully on the slopes. Birds along this road were: Andean Condor, Black Vulture, Variable Hawk, Carunculated Caracara, American Kestrel, Andean Coot, Black-winged Ground dove, Eared Dove, Giant Hummingbird, Ecuadorean Hillstar, Andean Lapwing, Black-faced Ibis, Bar-winged Cinclodes, Stout-billed Cinclodes, Many-striped Conistero, Brown-backed Chat Tyrant, Paramo Ground-Tyrant, Paramo Pipit, Black Flowerpiercer, Cinerous Conebill.

The woman with her son posed for a picture beside the high lake that is her home. They were dressed in their Sunday best probably for a visit with relatives. At or near this lake we saw Silvery Grebe, Andean Teal, Andean Coot, Andean Gull.

Galápagos Archipelago The Galápagos Archipelago of 19 islands and 42 islets ( land mass between 1 and 5 square miles ) straddles the equator about 600 miles off the coast of the mother country Ecuador. Volcanic in origin, the largest island Isabella is made of five volcanoes. Tourism is strictly regulated. Typical trips start with a flight from the mainland to the airport at Baltra * a small island just north of Santa Cruz. We boarded the first of two boats for our trip around the islands. The red line on the map approximates our route. Each boat is required to carry an Ecudoran guide and landing sites must be arranged in advanced. Landing schedules are not flexible. A missed landing cannot be made up the next day.

Shore landing were made using a smaller boat. One or two landings a day is the usual rule. Beach landing usually require some wading in the water. Best thing to do is to just take your shoes off and carry them in your pack. Some landings are made at docks or stairs and are dry landings. The Ecuadorian guide should announce which type of landing to expect as well as the strict landing rules.

Once at sea some immature Magnificent Frigatebirds joined us for a free ride in the rigging. The frigatebirds are a most unusual seabirds being unable to land and take off from the water or to drink seawater. On one of our walks we visited a fresh water lake and watched several frigatebirds coming in for a drink. They swoop low to the lake and scoop up water with their long bills. Occasionally one of them accidentally landed on the water and then struggled to take off before their wings got soaked.

Late in the trip we visited North Seymour Island where I got this close picture of displaying male Magnificent Frigatebird. We also saw immature Great Frigatebirds. We probably saw mature birds as well but they are difficult to distinguish in the field from the more common Magnificents.

Galápagos Penguins The first afternoon we sailed to the small island of Bartolome just north of Baltra. The skiff took us in two groups close to the island to see the Galápagos Penguin. There is an exclusive club of birders who have seen 17 penguin species and I want to join. The Galápagos Penguin is an endemic seabird that can only be seen in the vicinity of the islands. So with great anticipation, I got in the first skiff . We got very close to 3 birds standing on a rock. Unexpectedly two birds were up for a good show.

If the 17 penguin club is exclusive then the group of birders who have seen penguins actually mating is even more so. While we watched, the male sidled up to the female and stood right next to her. They exchanged some bill clicking for a few seconds and then the male mounted the female for about 3 minutes. According to one reference, eggs are laid in September. This is the first week of August. Seems a little early.

Mating complete, the female composed herself while the male strutted off to the water. I have seen many penguins, but this was a first for me. Unfortunately only half of the group was in the first boat and witnessed this amazing sight.

Leaving the female on the right, the male walks off to the water. The whole thing was witness by a third penguin who also stood on the rock to the left. The Galápagos Penguin is related to the Magellanic Penguin of southern Chile and to the similar Falkland Penguin. The disastrous 1982-83 El Niño caused the loss of 77 per cent of the population which is slowly recovering.

Almost immediately a second male (left) climbed up on the rock and approached the female. Too late buddy. Shove off. Back on the Angelique we watched a great plunge diving show by the Blue-footed Boobies.

These are the tracks left by a Green Sea Turtle on the way to laying her eggs in the sands of Isabella. At the top of the beach were several large craters where eggs had been laid. We did not see any sea turtles. The Green Sea Turtle is the most abundant and only sea turtle that is not endangered. It is also the only sea turtle that comes ashore to bask in the sun. As clumsy as these guys are on land, in the sea they are good swimmers. . I once saw a sea turtle while I was snorkeling in the Virgin Islands and tried to swim above it. It was way too fast for me.

Marine Iguanas spit salt water and laze around in the sun usually on the rocks. The famous red crabs of the Galápagos are black when young. Pelicans, Oystercatchers, Galápagos Penguins and a Great Blue Heron were seen from the beach.

There are two types of lava flows both with Hawaiian names. The pahoehoe lava is formed by a very slow moving tongue of lava which hardens on the surface while the flow continues underneath forming frozen waves. It forms a very solid sheet which is fairly easy to walk on. The more common type of lava is called aa and consists of angular blocks of rock of various sizes. It can be almost impossible to walk through unless a path is cleared.

The parent bird on the left regurgitates food into the chick's mouth. Like penguins the chick whole bill seems to be in the parent's throat. That ought to make anyone gag. Not all boat trips of the Galápagos reach the Flightless Cormorant colony on the far Fernandina Island. Our dry landing here turned a little wet when the tide came in and covered the rocks to the landing spot. We had to remove our shoes and walk barefooted over the sharp lava.

The bird on the far right is bringing a piece of seaweed for nesting material. Notice the vestigial wing of the bird on the left. "Stop" the sign says, but as you can see you are allowed to walk very close to the colony. This picture was taken with a point and shoot Cannon Powershot Digital camera.

The Flightless Cormorantis a Galápagos endemic. The wings are functionless. Notice the parent Cormorant in the back has two chicks. The one on the right is almost as big as the parent while the second chick in the middle is much smaller.

Espanolá
In my opinion the best island we visited was Espanolá, the primary breeding ground for the endemic Waved Albatross and for Blue-footed Boobies and other seabirds. As at all the islands the number of tourists per day is strictly regulated and visitors are restricted to walking a defined path at a landing site known as Punta Suarez. On the beach were the usual sea lions and marine iguanas and the Hood Mockingbird a bird reputed to puncture unattended Albatross eggs.

From the landing beach we started a walk along an easy path around the point. Nasca Boobies formerly considered a subspecies of the Masked Booby were roosting on the rocks and flying close to the shore. Along this walk we also saw aRed-billed Tropic bird sitting in a cavity of the rock with its tail extending outside the hole on the other side. It appeared to be on a nest. There was also a Yellow-crowned Night-heron The beautiful Swallow-tailed Gull has a wing pattern like that of Sabine's Gull..

Blue-footed Booby

Nasca Booby

Eventually we came to the Waved Albatross colony or at least the small part of it that tourists are allowed to visit. We saw several pairs of Albatross sitting together. You might jump to the conclusion that this pair represents a breeding couple, but consideration of the natural history of the albatross makes that highly unlikely. Probably these birds are singles. These two may be in the process of forming a pair bond and trying it out.

Most of the singles at Punta Suarez the morning we were there were sitting around in ones and twos. We were lucky to see this one pair performing the dance. The bird on the left is bowing while clicking his (her) bill. Unlike the Laysan Albatross at Midway there was no prancing around in circles. If could be that this couple was just not serious enough.

Here both birds are skypointing. They kept up this bill clicking, bowing, skypointing and preening under the wing for several minutes before the bird on the right just walked off and joined another group of birds. The bird on the left just sat down. During the pair formation period, the birds do not feed. An unsuccessful bird will give up when he or she gets too hungry and leave the island to try again next year. We were there in the first week of August. If could be that most of the singles have left for the season either because they made a pair bond or just got too hungry.

I think the Galápagos Albatross is the most beautiful of its kind. The large yellow bill is set off by the smoky black back and wings. The name "Waved Albatross" described the subtle wavy lines on the sides and breast which in these pictures appears gray. The white head and neck of the adult is suffused with pale yellow just barely visible in the photograph above. The underwings are white in the center with broad dark margins and tips. This bird is sitting right on the marked path and all the tourists pass by very close. He or she sat tight without moving. This could be a breeding adult sitting on an egg. More probably it is another loafing single resting in the singles bar.

The part of the colony we saw did not seem to be a healthy colony. I saw only one chick in the colony and the only other evidence of breeding pairs was an abandoned egg. Only a few singles were active in the colony. Fifty or more birds could be seen sitting on the water offshore. I know that singles at Midway Atoll go offshore periodically to bath and rest on the water so these birds might be doing the same.

At my urging Paul Greenfield asked some questions about the birds. Apparently elsewhere on the island there are 13,000 - 15,000 breeding pairs reported to be doing well. Why is the small colony where tourists are allowed to visit doing so poorly? Perhaps the path should be closed in April and May to allow the birds to settle in and establish their nests. More troublesome is the thought that the emphasis in the Galápagos is not on the prosperity of the Albatross. We know the Galápagos Petrel is severely declining. Each visitor to the island pays $100 entry fee and more than 90,000 visitors come each year. Only 60% of this fee goes to protecting the endemic birds and animals. The park seems to be doing well at protecting and restoring the giant land tortoise. Birds may be neglected.

Final Days
On San Cristobal we saw the Chatham Mockingbird and Vegetarian Finch on the road to the Galapaqulra de Cerro Colorado turtle refuge. We walked the trails of the turtle refuge birding and looking at the large turtles endemic to this island. Later we climbed the El Junco volcano crater with a lake shrouded in fog. Magnificent Frigatebirds were swooping over the lake looking for fresh water.

Back on the boat we sailed to North Seymour. On the way we saw 2 Albatrosses on the water. The first had something and the second seemed to bounce on the first and then a frigatebird bounced on both of them. This seemed a most strange encounter and unfortunately we were not too close. Later we circled a large seamount with screeching Tropicbirds and lots of Boobies.

The next day we landed on North Seymour where we saw a Red-footed Booby, sea lion pups and Blue-footed Boobies with chicks. Some Magnificent Frigatebirds sat with their red throats extended.

We packed up and said good-by to the "Free Enterprise" and made a long skiff ride to the island of Baltra. A bus picked us up and we went to a farm for some of the best land birding of the trip. On the road down to the lake we had quick looks at Paint-billed Crake. We walked around the lake seeing: Dark-billed Cuckoo, Short-eared Owl, Moorhen, Purple Gallinule, White-cheeked Pintail, Whimbrel. We also watched several Magnificent Frigatebirds scooping up drinks of fresh water from the pond.

We had lunch at the farm restaurant eating on the open veranda. We then went back to the muddy trail to try again for the Galápagos Rail. That evening we stayed at a hotel in Porto Ayoro and enjoyed a final dinner together with Paul Greenfield.

The next day we flew back to Quito and visited Paul's apartment to see his paintings and the original plates for the Birds of Ecuador. Our final night we were at the El Jardin Bed and Breakfast before flying home to Boston.