Española: Punta Suarez and Gardner Bay

This morning we had a dry landing at Espanola. Punta Suarez was a paradise for birders like myself. Among the red-billed tropic bird, Galapagos dove, three species of finches, waved albatross, and Nazca boobies, we even managed to see a baby albatross in the colony. One of the highlights was seeing a Nazca booby chick, which looked like a giant cottonball with its down feathers (used for warmth). The birds here have many interesting features. The mockingbird has the longest beak. The Galapagos hawk is at the top of the food chain and because it is the bird of prey, its species is not abundant. It was also interesting to note the differences of bird in flight. Some fly like they're in a hurry, while others seem much more elegant. To begin to categorize all these birds, there are two categories: sea bird vs. land bird. Here are some of my favorite bird photographs of the day:

Female frigate bird spreading her wings.

Swallow-tailed gull.

Yellow-crowned night heron.

On the hike, we saw a lot of sea lions, and a lot of sea lion pups!

Mom nursing her pup.

An adorable, yawning sea lion pup.

Sea lion with a rough hair day?

The reptiles here are also very interesting. Punta Suarez has the largest lava lizard. It also has the most colorful marine iguanas. They're a beautiful mix of reds, blacks, and turquoise. These iguanas change colors during the mating season, again illustrating how color sometimes plays a role in mating preferences.

Marine iguana basking in the sun.

Marine iguanas look like they have mohawks!

Some other interesting facts about this island pertain to the blue footed booby, which we did not see in Punta Suarez. The island used to have one of the largest populations, but the blue footed boobies have been moving to locations where they've never been before. If this has been their home for so long, what factors would contribute to them moving? One last fact about birds that I found interesting was that the albatross are on the island from April to December.

Our hike took us up to cliffs, where we saw a lot of bird life and beautiful landscapes. See below for photos!

Nazca booby giving us the side eye.

Nazca booby at the top of the cliffs.

Nazca booby hidden in the landscape.

Nazca booby ruffling its feathers.

Baby albatross chick, the only one in the nesting grounds.

Dramatic cliffs at the top of our hike.

Flying albatross.

An adult albatross stretches its wings.

Baby albatross in the nesting grounds.

At the end of our hike, it was time to go back to the shore, hop on the zodiacs, and move the boat. I snapped this shot of a Sally Lightfoot Crab as we were leaving.

Sally Lightfoot Crab with crashing waves.

I also found this great marine iguana playing hide and seek!

Marine iguana playing peek-a-boo. Fun fact... A National Geographic favorited this photograph on Nat Geo Your Shot!

In the afternoon, we went to Gardner Bay, a white sandy beach known for sea lions, lava lizards, finches, yellow warblers and Hood mockingbirds. The Hood mockingbird is the largest of the island's mockingbirds. Although it is very similar in appearance overall, it has a distinctive heavy bill and long legs. The underparts are a greyish-brown hue and it has yellowish eyes.

As we landed at Gardner Bay, it started to rain.

Me with a sea lion!!

Whale bones on the shore of Gardner Bay.

Stormy skies at Gardner Bay.

Chasing the sunset as we headed back to the yacht.

Even though we didn't see hundreds of sea lions (which Gardner Bay is sometimes home to), the beach was very tranquil. I have never been to the Caribbean, but I imagine the beach and the turquoise clear water of the Galapagos (at least at this location) resembles the Caribbean landscape. My photography highlight of the day was capturing a baby Nazca booby perched on top of a rock. In the photograph, the white contrasts with the cloudy, grey sky creating a more dramatic effect.

Photo highlight of the day!

That's all for now... Stay tuned for more Galapagos adventures. Also, be sure to hit the subscribe button to be notified of new posts, as there is sometimes unreliable internet! Follow my instagram @elissatitle for more photography posts.