Genovesa, 25 Sep 2017

Darwin Bay - Genovesa Island
We woke up in the collapsed crater of an extinct volcano - Darwin Bay on Genovesa Island. Our first excursion of the day was up Prince Philip's Steps - a rather hair-raising climb:

Prince Philip's Steps

On the way there, we observed some sea life from our Pangas. There were Galápagos Fur Seals (actually a Sea Lion species):

Galápagos Fur Seals
Galápagos Fur Seals

Galápagos Fur Seal

We also saw Swallow-tailed Gulls (we got a much better look at this species later in the day):
Swallow-tailed Gulls

Swallow-tailed Guills

Here are the intrepid adventurers watching the wildlife on our way to our first landing:
Sarah, Jill, Natasha

Marie

As I mentioned, Prince Philip's Steps were challenging - but Marie (Jill's mother) did not let them stop her:
Climbing the Steps (Jill and Marie)

At the top, we were rewarded with a baby Nazca Booby sitting right on the trail:

Nazca Booby (juvenile)

Nazca Booby (juvenile)





At the top of the steps it was a birder's paradise. We saw hundreds of birds. Red-footed Boobys:

Red-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby
We saw Nazca Boobys (including many couples - it turned out to be breeding season):
Nazca Booby

Nazca Booby Couple

Nazca Booby Couple

Nazca Booby Couple
Nazca Booby (juvenile)


We saw several Galápagos Doves:

Galápagos Dove
Lots of Marine Iguanas:

Marine Iguanas

Marine Iguanas

Marine Iguanas
The Galápagos Mockingbirds were everywhere. More than having "no fear" of people, they wanted to approach us, possibly because they were curious about any bright colors:


We saw many Frigatebird nests, along with juveniles:

Frigatebird

Frigatebird (juveniles)

I saw a Red-billed Tropicbird flying overhead:

Red-billed Tropicbird
And, of course, the ubiquitous finches:

Darwin Finch
Others in our party saw a Galápagos Short-eared Owl, but it was gone before we could get there. We got on board the Pangas and returned to the Origin:

MV Origin in Darwin Bay
After lunch and some freshening up, we headed back out on the Pangas for another shore excursion:
Fabricio (in mask), Sarah, Suzanne, Jill, Pete, and Roxane

On shore, there were quite a lot of birds, including more Nazca Boobys:
Nazca Booby

Nazca Booby, juvenile (?)

Nazca Boobys, mother feeding juvenile
Nazca Booby, juvenile, playing with a feather



Nazca Booby, juvenile

Quite a few Red-billed Tropicbirds were flying around:
Red-billed Tropicbird

Red-billed Tropicbird

Red-billed Tropicbird

Red-billed Tropicbirds




There were also many Frigatebirds nesting and flying:
Frigatebird

Frigatebird (juvenile)

Frigatebird

Frigatebird




Interesting fact about Frigatebirds - they get much of their food by stealing it from other birds who had just caught it. They would mob boobys:
Frigatebirds and booby (booby lower left)
Sometimes the Frigatebird would get more than it bargained for:
Frigatebird and Booby
We also saw the ever-present mockingbird:
Galápagos Mockingbird
The most memorable part of this landing, though, were the Swallow-tailed Gulls. It was mating season for them, and they were really going after it:
Swallow-tailed Gull

Swallow-tailed Gulls, preening


Swallow-tailed Gulls, breeding calls

Swallow-tailed Gulls, umm, giving horsey rides














We also saw a ray in a tidal pool:
Ray in tidal pool
The mortal remains of a toothed whale:
Toothed Whale Skull
And a Lava Heron Yellow-crowned Night Heron giving us the stink-eye:
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (juvenile?)

We returned to the ship and watched a gorgeous sunset (with crescent moon in upper left):


Our briefing told us about the next day's trip - to the north shore of Santa Cruz island, including a refueling stop on Balta Island:

And then we went to bed while the ship cruised to our next stop.

Location: Genovesa Island, Ecuador

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