We had a morning tour to a beach area. Some of the passengers went snorkeling, but we decided to explore the beach wildlife. There were several Sea Lions on the beach, and we had our first of many encounters with marine iguanas.
Española, Galápagos
We had a morning tour to a beach area. Some of the passengers went snorkeling, but we decided to explore the beach wildlife. There were several Sea Lions on the beach, and we had our first of many encounters with marine iguanas.
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Nursing Sea Lion
Male Sea Lion
Marine iguana
Adult Sally Lightfoot Crab
Small birds flitted about in the vegetation, but we were restricted to a short stretch on the sandy beach, so I could only see birds that were at the edges.
Hood Mockingbird
Hood Mockingbird
Grey Warbler-Finch
Grey Warbler-Finch
Grey Warbler-Finch
Large Cactus Finch
Yellow Warbler
After returning to the ship, I took a few photos while we were still anchored. A Small Ground Finch landed on the top deck in search of food that may have fallen in the non-slip tiles. A Blue-footed Booby was fishing in the water, and a Nazca Booby flew by. Nazca Boobies were once considered a sub-species of the Masked Booby, but are now their own species. I was able to get photos of an Elliot's Storm-petrel.
Small Ground Finch
Small Ground Finch
Blue-footed Booby
Nazca Booby
Elliot's Storm-petrel
The ship then sailed to another site on Española. Along the way, I saw Galápagos Shearwaters and Great Frigatebirds. Great Frigatebirds are slightly smaller than Magnificent Frigatebirds. Females lack the black breast of Magnificent, and juveniles have pale orange heads and breasts, although a few of the juveniles have white heads.
Galápagos Shearwater
Male Great Frigatebird
Immature Great Frigatebird
Juvenile Great Frigatebird