THAT'S MY WORLD - More Birds

Firstly I want to apologise to everyone who has visited my blog in the last couple of weeks and left comments - I will respond and reciprocate soon, I promise. I am just very behind with everything right now, but I am working on it!
As promised last week, we return to the Galapagos and its endless array of avian residents.


This is the Swallow-tailed Gull Creagrus furcatus. I know what you are thinking - its a Seagull! Yes it is but it is actually a pretty neat one. The Swallow-tailed Gull is the only Gull in the world that hunts at night, it has an exceptionally large eye, sorry it is not easy to see in this shot. When we were traveling on the boat at night between islands, from time to time a ghostly white shape would appear behind the boat, gliding along and it was the Swallow-tailed Gull hunting for squid. It is also thought that this bird uses a primitive form of echo location, similar to that used by bats, to locate its roosting spot on the cliff-side when it returns in the dark.


There are so many species that are endemic to these islands, it almost becomes a bit of a joke after a while, the Galapagos Sea lion, the Galapagos Hawk, The Galapagos Tortoise and also this delightful little character - no prizes for guessing - The Galapagos Dove! Zenaida galapagoensis A process of evolution on Genovesa Island has softened the spines of cactus plants and thereby allowed the Galapagos Dove access to pollinate the flowers. This has occurred due to the lack of bees that would normally perform this function. These beautiful little birds are very tame and would fly down very close if you stood still. Their markings are quite stunning, complemented by their bright red legs and feet! I was fortunate enough to watch a pair of them carrying out a whole courtship routine in front of my feet. Lots of picking up of leaves and bits of grass and running round in circles was involved!


The Lava Heron Butorides sundevalli was another regular sighting. I was sitting on a rock one morning watching some Marine Iguanas and the Lava Heron flew in so close that I thought he was going to land on me. He landed about six inches in front of me, so close that I couldn't actually get a photo of him. He didn't seem to be the slightest bit bothered by me and just carried on about his heron business.
And this is what heron business involves! This is an immature bird and as you can see, high on the menu is crab!


Not to be out done, this Yellow-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax violaceus put on quite the show with his bizarre posing! Again this bird was only a couple of feet away from us. Apparently this pose is a means of lowering the body temperature in the heat of the day.


I could not do a bird post without mention of my all time favorite type of bird, the Pelican. The Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis found on the Galapagos is considered to be an endemic subspecies. We would always have at least one Pelican bobbing around behind our boat whenever we were at anchor. There is one bird that has managed to cash in on the Pelican when it is fishing.


The Brown Noddy Anous stolidus waits for the Pelican to begin fishing, as the Pelican surfaces with a beak full of water and fish, the Brown Noddy flies down and lands on the Pelicans head and grabs any small fish that happen to escape from the Pelicans prodigious beak! When the guide first told me about this, I thought she was joking until I saw it for myself! Needless to say the Pelican is not too impressed with the process.
The Pelican has found somewhere were it can feed in peace though, the local fish market on Santa Cruz Island


These birds were hilarious, running around amongst the fish mongers feet like a pack of dogs and if they didn't get the scraps fast enough they would fly up onto the counter where the fish were being gutted and help themselves! I had never seen anything quite like it.


Finally I have to mention what is arguably the most famous of all the Galapagos birds, the group that comes under the umbrella of Darwins Finches. There are thirteen species of finch endemic to the islands. As a birder I found it very frustrating because no one, not even the guides can tell them apart so no matter which one it is you see, it is just referred to as a Darwins Finch! It is because of this group of birds that Darwin became captivated by the whole idea of evolution, and the rest, as they say, is history. If you want a really good, modern day perspective on this fascinating subject, I would highly recommend The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner.

To see many more wonderful places around the world check out That's My World.

Photo Credits - Dominick V

THAT'S MY WORLD

Well I promised a couple of weeks ago that we would get airborne in the Galapagos for the next post - sorry that got delayed for a week (see previous post) but better late than never!

One bird that seems synonymous with the Galapagos is the Blue-footed Booby Sula nebouxii excisa. Blue-footed Boobies can be found in other parts of the world but the sub-species excisa is endemic to Galapagos. These birds are very much the clowns of the islands and when you see their delightful courtship 'dance' which involves waving their huge, vivid blue feet in the air, you can see why. The Blue-footed Booby fishes close to shore which means that when fishing is good the parents can raise up to three young in their sparse nest spots on the ground.

But the Blue-foot isn't the only Booby on the islands, there is also the very charming Red-footed Booby Sula sula. This funny character has two colour morphs, the common brown morph and the less common white morph. I think this was my personal favorite of the Boobies, partly for the delightful subtle pastel shades it wears around its beak and eyes


and partly because of the utterly bizarre way that they sleep in trees.............................


The first time I saw one in this position I was quite alarmed, I thought it was sick or dying! But no, just sleeping! The Red-footed Boobies nest in trees, not on the ground like the other species, they also fish many hundreds of miles out at sea, because of this long commute for food they only ever lay one egg as feeding one chick is a full time task.

The third species of Booby found on the islands is the Nazca Booby Sula granti. This spectacular bird is easy to spot because it has beautifully bright white plumage.


The Nazca is the largest of the three Booby species, it fishes further from the shore than Blue-footed Boobies but not as far out to sea as the Red-footed Boobies. The Nazca nests on the ground and will always produce two eggs. If they both hatch then the chicks will fight until one is pushed from the nest to die (obligate sibling murder) not an entirely pleasant process but it seems to ensure that each pairing has a high probability of raising a chick with each breeding cycle.


Ok, that is enough Boobies for today! I have talked about the Flightless Cormorant Nannopterum harrisi in a previous post but because they are a personal favorite of mine, you have to be subjected again! In case you thought that romance was dead, this bird is living proof that it is actually alive and well. These intriguing birds build their rock and seaweed nests on the rocky shoreline.


The female stays on shore to incubate the eggs and later protect the chicks, whilst the male hunts for fish for them. As well as 'bringing home the bacon' on a regular basis, every time he returns to the nest he brings a small gift for his mate, another pebble or piece of seaweed for the nest so as the weeks go by the nest becomes taller and taller! They definitely get my vote for the 'incurable romantic' award!


Another bird I have mentioned previously is the Great Frigate bird Fregata minor ridgewayi. Better known for its piratical habits with regard to stealing food from other birds, this bird too can turn on the charm when necessary. The male, equipped with his bizarre scarlet gular pouch waits for females to fly past and then puts on quite the show. First he throws back his head, fills the gular pouch and starts creating a very strange warbling, almost yodeling sound, as this is happening, he shakes his head from side to side and spreads his enormous wings.


I guess if you are a female Frigate bird, it works for you! Although most of the females I saw were keeping a fairly wary distance from this extravagant display!


The Galapagos Penguin Sphensicus mendiculus is one of the smallest Penguins in the world but what it lacks in physical stature it makes up for in character.


This is the only penguin found in the Northern Hemisphere and also the only one to breed entirely within the tropics. How can you not smile when you see these characters?

One thing that doing this post is making me realise, is that I can't possible talk about all the amazing birds species in one post, so I guess I know what I will be doing for next weeks post :) Galapagos Birds - Part Two!

For many wonderful posts from all over the world, check out Thats My World.

Photo Credits - Dominick V

THAT'S MY WORLD 2

After a positive response last week I am transporting you again to the Galapagos Islands. It seems a perfect time of year to escape the cold and grey outside and travel via computer to these wonderful Islands.


This time I am going to take you into the water because there is as much diversity to be seen there as on the land. This was a very major hurdle for me because although I swim adequately my least comfortable element is definitely the water, either on it or in it. However I was not going to take this trip of a lifetime and not take advantage of every moment. So how to snorkel in thousands of feet of water without freaking out? I went to a scuba store and was fortunate enough to talk with a wonderful lady who said that it was absolutely no problem and there was a special flotation device designed especially for snorkeling which didn't push you onto you back like a normal life jacket. So there I was, all kitted out with my geeky fluorescent yellow inflatable device, ready to go!


The sea is the lifeblood of the Galapagos Islands, the diversity of birds and animals would cease to exist without the rich surrounding waters. It was not until 1986 that a presidential decree was issued establishing a Galapagos Marine Resources Reserve. The area was then declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, including the entire waters surrounding the islands to a distance of 15 nautical miles. And as soon as you start to look into the water it is clear to see why this was so important.

Marine Iguanas Amblyrhynchus cristatus diving to graze on the algae growing on the rocks.

Galapagos Green Turtles Chelonia mydas agassisi floating sedately past.

Sally Lightfoot Crabs Grapsus grapsus scuttling around in the shallows.

Dolphins porpoising along beside our boat.......................
The water is positively brimming with life.


But you really have no idea just how much is there until you get below the surface and thanks to my husband taking a little underwater camera with him, I can show you.


These spectacular Sea Stars were all over the place, this one was well over 12 inches across. There was also a Sea Star that looked exactly like a chocolate chip cookie, I didn't learn until later that it was actually called the Chocolate Chip Sea Star!


One of the highlights for me was swimming with the Sea Turtles. For those of you that have watched Finding Nemo, they were exactly like the turtles in that movie! You could almost hear them as they swam slowly round you saying - 'Hey dude! Far out!'


Another stunning sight were the numerous rays wafting by like large underwater blankets. Unfortunately I am not expert enough to identify the rays above but the one below is a Sting Ray Dasyatididae spp.


Despite the various hair-raising stories about these creatures that have done the rounds since the demise of Steve Irwin, they were very peaceful and just carried on doing their thing as we swam near them.
Speaking of hair-raising! There is nothing more sobering than being in the water when you meet your first shark! Although the White-Tip Reef Shark Triaendon obesus is not known to attack humans, you do suddenly feel rather small and feeble!


One little character that was an absolute delight was the Galapagos Penguin Spheniscus mendiculus. How on earth my husband managed to get a picture of one I can't imagine as these little birds fly through the water like little fat bullets! The only one that I got a really good view of was the one that swam right up to my mask and screeched to a halt about six inches in front of me - I don't know which one of us was more surprised!


But the prize for the clown of the seas has to go to the Galapagos Sea Lion Zalophus wollebaeki. These guys actually tried to play with us in the water although they always seemed rather unimpressed with our inability to stay underwater for minutes at a time!


My husband had great fun with this little guy when he discovered that if he blew bubbles, the Sea Lion would do the same!


And in case you think I have forgotten one vital ingredient of life in the water, yes there was a whole kaleidoscope of fish of every colour, shape and size.


PHEW!!! You can come up for air now and dry yourself off! Thank you for swimming with me. Next week maybe we'll take to the air for a change!

For many great postings from cool locations all over the globe, check out That's My World.

Photo Credits - Dominick V

THAT'S MY WORLD TUESDAY

Before you get too excited, no, I don't live on the Galapagos Islands! However I did visit them earlier this year and it was because my husband took so many great photos of the trip that I started my blog in the first place.
The Galapagos are an archipelago off of Ecuador. They are formed by the movement of a tectonic plate over a hotspot in the earths crust. As the plate moves over the hotspot different islands erupt out of the sea to form a chain. Over the millenia the islands slide away from the hotspot and through gradual erosion, eventually disappear back into the sea. At one end of the chain there are bare rocks that carry less life forms and are essentially just used as breeding grounds for ocean going birds.


At the other end of the chain, the 'new' islands show frequent volcanic activity and are just beginning to get populated with various life forms. Here is a fresh lava field that has flowed out into the sea.


One of the first species to inhabit this newly formed land is the lava cactus Brachycereus nesioticus.


In between the two extremes there is a huge diversity of habitat that supports the legendary range of species associated with the Galapagos. Of course the most famous of these is the giant land tortoise. There were originally fifteen sub-species on the islands, there are now eleven remaining and a very active breeding program in place to keep these populations strong.


Another unique creature is the Marine Iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus, the only iguana in the world that has adapted to swim and feed in the sea. The one in this picture is wearing a lava lizard on his head, as well as being a very stylish fashion accessory, the lava lizard does a great job of eating all the pesky little flies that swarm around the iguanas face, so both animals benefit.


Of course the Galapagos is also known for a rather famous human visitor too. Charles Darwin was quite spellbound by the diversity of unique species he found on this tiny archipelago and it was the inspiration for his masterpiece 'The Origin of Species.' One group of creatures that contributed greatly to the writing of this book were the numerous finches found on the islands. There are thirteen different species, all with very subtle differences and it was these that really set Darwin on his course of study.


One species that Darwin didn't see on his visit is the Flightless Cormorant Phalacrocorax harrisi I can't help feeling that he would have found it easier to make his point on evolution if he had seen it! Of all the species of cormorants that occur around the world, this is the only one that has evolved to flightlessness because of the lack of land predators.


One great conservation success story of the islands is that of the Galapagos Fur Seal Arctocephalus galapagoensis, which is actually a sea lion! This diminutive pinaped was hunted to the brink of extinction because of its luxurious thick fur. It is generally thought that its habit of hunting at night was one thing that saved it because it made it so much harder to catch. Hunting is now banned and the population is flourishing. You can see from this sleeping beauty that they have learned very quickly to ignore the silly humans that pass by!


There is also a short-eared owl that has adapted in a very unique way to island life. Instead of hunting at night, in the air, they have adapted to ambushing their prey underground. The tiny storm petrels roost and nest in their hundreds in cracks and cavities in the lava. The owl squeezes its way into these spaces and waits for the little petrel to return and then grabs it! The owls are very rarely seen but we were lucky enough to see one hiding out.


Where ever you turn on these amazing islands there is incredible, unique wildlife, and so much diversity for such a tiny landmass. Please let me know in your comments if you liked this whistle-stop tour because if you did I can certainly revisit it in a future posting.


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Photo Credits - Dominick V