Most of the islands have at least two names, given by Spanish and English explorers.
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| We were greeted
on the beach by the bold and endlessly curious Hood mockingbird. |
The mockingbirds have learned that a clear bottle means water, so if you take your water bottle out, you are likely to have company! |
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| It was a day for the bird-watchers, as we saw (up close) many new species, including the yellow warbler. | Some American oystercatchers were resting on the rocks just off the beach. |
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| One of the highlights of the day was watching the albatrosses perform the dance that they do to reinforce their pair-bonding before leaving the islands for months. These birds are monogamous and will return to nest again next year. | Albatrosses look a little ungainly as they walk across the land, but are magnificent as they drop off a cliff to take flight.
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| Among the non-avian species we saw, the prehistoric-looking black-and-red marine iguanas were hard to miss. | A little searching was required to find the colorful male Galapagos lava lizard. |
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| We also saw the first of the 13 Darwin's finches. We think we saw 8 types, but since it is very hard to tell one from another, we were never sure. Was this a medium ground finch or a large ground finch?? | Just off the shore we saw wading birds, like the tattler, in the surf.
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| As we moved inland, we found more species, including the beautiful, but shy, Galapagos dove. | There were many Nasca boobies (formerly known as masked boobies) nesting on Espanola. |
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| Among the geologic features of the island was the blowhole, which gave us a nice show. | While back on the beach, the snorkelers and the sea lions got along peacefully. |
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