Sheryl Checkman Design

Make way for ducklings! Mama and 11 babies yesterday at the Conservatory Water yesterday.

Went to see the NYAC fledgling hawks yesterday but only saw this one. Not sure but thinking it was probably Magic. No sign of mom all afternoon. He sat for a while in a tree above the horse watering trough and then flew across the driveway to another tree and then yet another, all the while crying for mom. He later perched on the lamppost, where I watched him calling out for mom to no avail before flying back across the drive to another tree. By 6:30pm mom still hadn’t appeared and I had to leave. I hope she brought him dinner eventually. No sign of his sibling either, 🤔

On May 18 we said goodbye to the Galapagos Legend and boarded a bus that took us to the highlands of Santa Cruz Island to see the wild giant tortoises. We saw several of the giant tortoises in their natural habitat while walking in the rain at the Highland Tortoise Reserve. In the last picture you can see just how big they are compared to me!

A pair of Frigatebirds (I think these are Magnificent Frigatebirds) flying against the beautiful backdrop of Mosquera Islet. You can tell the male by his inflatable red pouch on his throat.

om1markⅱ

A family of Marine Iguanas alongside a bunch of Sally Lightfoot crabs at Mosquera islet.

May 17. In the late afternoon, our ship moved to Mosquera Islet, located between Baltra and North Seymour. After a wet landing, we were left to walk along the beautiful sandy beach among the many lounging resident sea lions. After a hard day of swimming and looking to catch fish, the sea lions just like to sleep on the beach and catch some rays! Swipe to see some of my iPhone videos of them looking for just the right spot to flop!

Here are some shots that show off the topography of San Cristobal Island with its’ rugged, wind-carved landscape, where, in addition to the Bo***es, we saw Brown Pelicans, Sea lions, Frigatebirds and more.

May 17 — Santa Cruz Island, Cerro Dragon:
We began the day with an early morning panga ride and dry landing on Santa Cruz Island, where we took an uphill trail to a lookout point on Cerro Dragon (or Dragon Hill), named for a colony of land iguanas that inhabited the site in the 1970s. We saw Brown Pelicans ( photos 1-3), a Black-necked Stilt (4-6), Galapagos Mockingbird (7-8), Mangrove Yellow Warbler (9-11) and a Galapagos Flycatcher (12).

There are 7 species of Lava Lizards recorded in the Galapagos. This one is the Floreana Lava Lizard. They are small reptiles with long tapering tails, slim bodies and pointed heads. Their toes are long and pointed, unlike geckos. Unlike geckos they are active during the day.

, floreanalavalizard,

Some more birds seen on the 5/16 hike on Floreana: Small Ground Finch, maybe a Common Catus Finch, and Flamingos.