Espanola/Hood Island

Sally Lightfoot Crab

Last night was far more calm than we had expected, and everyone slept well and appeared for breakfast.   At 8.00 am we set off on the pangas for Espanola or Hood Island.   From the boat we could see galapagos hawk sitting on a trig pt near the landing area.   Unfortunately, as we approached another group were going far too close and the bird had gone before we got there.

As we landed sealions and sally lightfoot crabs were loafing about, with marauding gangs of hood mockingbird and ruddy turnstone pecking about for anything vaguely edible (more of which later).  Some of the young sealions were only hours old and others just a few days.    Large cactus finch and small ground finch were joined by warbler finch (grey subspecies).

Hood Mockingbird

Both blue-footed and nasca boobies had young, and waved albatross used the cliff edge as a runway.   Marine iguanas in their distinctive "hood island red" subspecies gathered to sleep in large groups.   Lava lizards diced with being squashed as we continued along the path - they have no notion of human danger.   Galapagos hawk appeared in a nearby bush, and had a metal and white colour-ring on the left leg and and second bird appeared with white on the right leg - a third hawk did not appear to have any rings.

Sealion Pup

We watched as young sealions played in the shallows and along the beach.   Sealions cover themselves in sand to try to prevent flies bothering them.   Seemed to work on the ones we saw.   Sadly one mum was lying besides her stillborn young.  We were advised that they often stay by the side of a dead pup for several days - such devotion was both touching and upsetting.   Then reality struck as a medium ground finch started to peck at the afterbirth - the circle of lift never ceases to amaze.

The young of nasca boobies and waved albatross were begging for food, and as we watched the parents try to feed young they had to dodge the attentions of frigatebirds who are always keen to poach a free meal.  Juan explained how to tell the sex of blue-footed boobies - the female is larger and has a pigmented area around the iris which makes the pupil appear larger than the male.

Lava Heron

We continued along the walk making a loop back to the jetty, past waved albatross breeding areas and admiring the endemic plants along the way.

On the beach near the jetty several mockingbirds were trying to eat a sealion placenta (sorry - graphic but true) and a rather plucky medium ground finch beat them off!

A lava heron watched as we departed the island, blending in well with the stones.

After lunch we had a wet landing at Gardner Bay.  An excellent beach of beautiful golden sand - created from shells - and absolutely strewn with sealions sleeping in the sun, they took no notice of us as we sauntered along the tide line.

Wandering Tattler

Turtles appeared - their heads popping out of the water for a second or so then disappearing from sight.

I decided to swim, and the current was strong enough to knock me off my feet and throw me back unceremoniously on the beach - with a costume full of sand!   We shared the beach with wandering tattler, yellow warbler and more ruddy turnstone.

Eventually we had to return to the boat, for dinner, a viewing of a Galapagos DVD showing how the islands had been created, and a rough passage to Floreana Island.