Galapagos-1983, Fernandina.

1-14-12 SHORT HILLS: These pix are from an island in the Galapagos that we didn’t get to this trip. Fernandina is the westernmost island, the newest, with an active volcano and the youngest lava flows. This spot, Punta Espinosa, is on the northeast corner. The day we were there was teeming and foggy adding to the otherworldly look of the place. It’s all lava, black sand and surf with only an occasional, scruffy cactus.

Because of the rain, I had my Pentax SLR in a plastic bag with the corner cut off for the end of the lens. Focusing and adjusting the f-stop was difficult, and the footing was treacherous, hence the marginal quality of the images. This bleak spot seems to be paradise for the marine iguanas and the flightless cormorants. The cormorants are only found here and a few spots on Isabela and are vulnerable as a species.


Colony of dozens and dozens of Marine Iguanas, all black, enjoying the weather.


Another big bunch of iguanas.


Two Flightless Cormorants in silhouette, necks flexed, a common posture.


Cormorant with neck extended. The ship is visible beyond the surf, faintly seen through the rain and fog.


Black Sand, lava flows, sea lion or two in shallow water.


Flightless cormorant facing right with neck flexed and chin on chest, stubby, right wing seen on end.

Standing cormorant, flying pelican. The darkest masses on the far shore are bunches of iguanas. People on horizon.


Cormorant, same pose, facing left, wing folded. Iguana closer to the water.

Frigate Bird Gets Fed.

1-13-12 SHORT HILLS: There are some good shots in the Galapagos-1983 Album. [The link is to the right.] I’ll post a few entries over the next few days using them, to supplement the stories from last week.

Here are a few. These big birds are Frigate birds. They’re so named because they steal fish from other sea birds by diving at them after they make a catch. The males have that red organ on their necks that they inflate during mating season. The females have a white chest. The immature birds have white heads. The immatures hang around the nest tree waiting for the female to return with fish. I don’t know if the males participate in rearing the young.

In this series the female returns to the immature bird with a fish in her crop that the immature gets for dinner. A second immature, either a sibling or a non-relative is on the far right in some of the pix, the second immature tries to steal the first immature’s meal after the female leaves.


"It must be almost dinner time. I wonder where Ma is?"

"Hi, Sweetie, I'm back."

"Have you been a good immature frigate bird?"

"Where's my dinner, Ma?"

"O, I see it now."

"Outta my face, bro."

"Wait for you're own fish."

Galapagos-1983.

1-12-12 Short Hills: I looked at my slides from our March, 1983 trip to the Galapagos. They were, obviously, film, not digital, and somewhat deteriorated. The colors have faded, and the image quality was poorer than I remember. I took digital pix of some of them and edited, attempting to restore quality, with partial, at most, success. Some of them are up in a Picasa album, [Galapagos-1983] with a link on the right. I'll do a post with some of the images later in the week.

Galapagos Birds III.

1-10-12 SHORT HILLS: Here are the last of my Galapagos birds. There are a few repeats. I think we saw, and ID’d, about half of the birds listed in the guide, Wildlife of the Galapagos, J. Fitter, D. Fitter and D. Hosking, Princeton Univ. Press, 2000.

I will dig out my slides from our previous trip and see if I have some different birds to add in another post.

Again, the captions show—Island, Species, resident status. I think some of the Plovers were in winter plumage and some in breeding plumage. Anybody have a different take?


Baltra, immature Egret, resident.

Santa Cruz, Smooth-billed Ani, introduced.

Santa Cruz, Wandering Tattler, migrant.

Isabela, Whimbrel, migrant.

Isabela, Semi-palmated Plover, migrant.

Isabela, Black-necked Stilt, found only in Galapagos.

Isabela, White-cheeked Pintail, found only in Galapagos, subspecies found elsewhere.

Isabela, Black-necked Stilt, found only in Galapagos.

Isabela, White-cheeked Pintail, found only in Galapagos, subspecies found elsewhere.

Isabela, Common Gallinule, resident and found elsewhere.

Floreana, Sanderling, migrant.

Galapagos Birds II.

1-9-12 SHORT HILLS: The weather here remains unusually mild for January and dry. Here are more birds from the Galapagos. The captions show Island, Species, Native status.


Floreana, Lava Heron, found only in Galapagos.

Floreana, Great Blue Heron, found elsewhere.

Floreana, Semi-palmated Plover, migrant.

Floreana, Black-bellied Plover, migrant.

Floreana, Yellow Warblers in boudoir, found only in Galapagos, subspecies found elsewhere.

Espanola, Hood Mockingbird, found only in Galapagos.

Espanola, American Oystercatcher, found only in Galapagos, subspecies found elsewhere.

Espanola, Semi-palmated Plover, migrant.

Los Lobos, Small Ground Finch, found only in Galapagos.

Los Lobos, Yellow Wharbler, found only in Galapagos, subspecies found elsewhere.

San Cristobal, Galapagos Flycatcher, found only in Galapagos.

Genovesa, Wandering Tattler-winter plumage, migrant.

Genovesa, Whimbrel, migrant.

Genovesa, Ruddy Turnstone, migrant.

Galapagos Birds.

1-7-12 SHORT HILLS: I have presented the journey, day by day, and won’t dicuss the ghastly trip home with canceled flights by LAN airlines, but we did get home, sort of on schedule, 12-31-11.

Since I have only shown a small fraction of my pix so far, I thought I would do more Galapagos birds. Not the iconic ones, boobies, penguins and frigates, that I have already shown, but some of the other ones that we saw. Many are found only in the Galapagos, some have similar relatives elsewhere. Like most of the Galapagos animals, the birds are much more approachable than they are elsewhere. You get better pix.

I have tried to ID them all, but it’s easy to confuse immature of one species with adults of another, and a lot of adults are similar, plus plumage changes with gender and season. So, I am quite willing to be corrected on IDs. I have noted the island, my species ID, and how unique to the Galapagos they are.


Santa Cruz, Brown Pelican, subspecies widely found.

Santa Cruz, Cactus Ground Finch, found only in Galapagos.

North Seymour, Western Sandpiper, migrant during Northern winter.

Genovesa, Galapagos Mockingbird, found only in Galapagos. [above and below]


Genovesa, Lava Gull, immature, found only in Galapagos.

Genovesa, Galapagos Dove, found only in Galapagos.

Genovesa, immature Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, related subspecies found elsewhere.

Genovesa, Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, related subspecies found elsewhere.

Genovesa, immature Swallow Tail Gull, found only in Galapagos.

Genovesa, immature Lava Heron, found only in Galapagos. [above and below]



Genovesa, Large Ground Finch, found in Galapagos only.