Galapogos- Day 3. Marine Igunanas and More Boobys

Marine iguana
Day 3 of the trip started on a different island. We were now on Espanola island, one of the oldest of the group of Islands. In the briefing the night before we were told that this was another difficult walk. No climbing but lots and lots of rocks and very uneven pathways. This would also be a dry landing as there was a small jetty at Suarez Point. On this island, the marine iguanas are quite different from the other islands and are the most beautify with the males in full mating colours having a lot of red in the skin. This red colour has to do with their diet of marine algae and around Espanola Island, there is a lot of red algae. There were no shortage of marine iguanas on this island! Just after landing, there were many iguanas on the path. So much so that it was quite difficult to walk! The guide told us to make sure not to stand on their tails as they  would give you a nasty bite. They just don't move out of the way.
So many!

All of the wildlife on this island were different from the previous island. There were difference species of Darwin finches and the lava lizards were also very similar but different. One gets a real appreciation of the powers of observation of Charles Darwin in that he could see that there were differences in the species from the different islands.
Young albertros
During the breeding season (April to December) large colonies of Waved Albatross breed on the island. My visit was in late January, but I was luck enough to see the very last of the albatross on the island. A really late bloomer! The Galapagos dove can also be found on this island.
There is also a large colony of Nazca boobys on the island as well and the path goes right through the middle of their breeding colony. Breeding was in full swing with lots of chicks. They always lay two  eggs but there is always only one chick. The first to hatch kills the second one. I guess an insurance policy that there will be one chick to raise.
Feeding time
Grooming time
Flying time
On the nest
Galapagose pigeon
After returning to the boat for lunch, we moved off to Gardner Bay on Espanola Island. This was a wet landing on a beautiful white sandy beach guarded by the usual colonies of Sea Lions. The main activity this afternoon was another snorkel at a nice looking rocky outcrop about 500 m from the beach. We were dropped off by dingy, but unfortunately the visibility was again poor and there was a very strong current. The dingy had moved off at that point, so a swim out was called for. The current was very strong and took us down the beach. I eventually made it out quite a bit further along the beach then where we started from. We returned to the boat after another great day.
Beautiful birds


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