November 12, 2014: Santiago & Bartolome Islands
November 10, 2014: Santiago & Rabida Islands
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November 11, 2014
Galapagos Cruise Day 2
Isabela Island

 

Today, we will be visiting Isabela Island, and we will have two excursions here. In the morning we will take a Zodiac ride through the mangroves to see how much wildlife we can spot. In the afternoon we will go on a fast walk on the island followed by another Zodiac ride.

 

Morning on the Celebrity Xpedition

This morning, there are two different Zodiac excursions to the mangroves- an early one and a late one. We decided to take the second tour, so we had plenty of time to have breakfast and relax before leaving the ship about 10AM.


Breakfast in the Darwin Restaurant

We had breakfast in the restaurant, and then the four of us gathered at the stern for coffee and to watch the early tour Zodiacs leaving the ship. I hadn't completed the email from the day before, so I finished that and sent it out using the Internet connection available in the main lounge.

We just took a few casual pictures on board this morning, and you can click on the thumbnail images below to have a look at them:

Just before 10AM, we went back to our stateroom to change for the Zodiac ride to the mangroves.

 

Galapagos Shore Excursion (3):
          Cruising through the Mangroves at Elizabeth Bay, Isabela Island

Isabela Island is the largest island of the Galápagos with an area of 1,800 sq mi- four times larger than Santa Cruz, the second largest of the archipelago. It was named after Queen Isabella of Spain. I didn't know it at the time, but the equator goes right across Isabela Island. One of the youngest islands, Isabela is located on the western edge of the archipelago near the Galápagos hotspot. At approximately 1 million years old, the island was formed by the merger of 6 shield volcanoes - Alcedo, Cerro Azul, Darwin, Ecuador, Sierra Negra and Wolf. All but one of these is still active, making it one of the most volcanically active places on earth.


The daily bulletin described this excursion thusly:

                         "Elizabeth Bay provides the perfect setting for a scenic zodiac ride and wildlife viewing. Within this sheltered mangrove-lined bay we may see Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, blue-footed boobies, herons, sea lions, and hawks. Shallow clear water reveals Green sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, stingrays and golden rays. It is a wildlife bonanza in this, the western region of the Galapagos.
Duration: About 2 hours"
                        

 

From the Xpedition to the Mangroves

The Zodiacs for our first shore excursion today left right on time at 10AM, and we were in the second one to leave. The Xpedition had anchored maybe a mile from the mangroves, and so it took us a few minutes to get to the area where the mangroves and wildlife were. On the way, we each took some pictures aboard the Zodiac.


Fred and I were sitting on opposite sides of the little Zodiac, mostly so we could get different photographic perspectives. So we are rarely in the same shot. Ben and Linda Reiff are at the right in the picture I took of Fred in the Zodiac. You can see that picture at left.

As with all our excursions throughout the week, we were accompanied and led by one of the eight or ten naturalists that sail aboard the Xpedition each week. This is Carlos, our naturalist for the morning. He was very informative all through the morning, and he guided the motorman where to take the little Zodiac so that we could see as much as possible.

Click on the thumbnail images below to see some more pictures we took from the Zodiac on our way in (and in one of them you ccan see Nancy and Al Crystal to my left):

It took us about fifteen minutes to get from the ship to the point where we slowed down to enter the mangroves.

 

The Mangroves

Before we get to what we saw as we cruised slowly through the mangroves, we probably ought to talk a bit about just what mangroves are, and why they are so important to the Galapagos.


Mangroves at Elizabeth Bay

Extending along the shores of many islands, one finds forests of mangroves of four species: red, black, white and button. A rich concentration of nutrients and plankton flows in and out with the tides, making mangrove forests important breeding and nursery grounds for fishes and invertebrates. They are also used as nesting sites by many birds.

Mangrove Swamps consist of a variety of salt-tolerant trees and shrubs that thrive in shallow and muddy saltwater or brackish waters. Mangroves can easily be identified by their root system. These roots have been specially adapted to their conditions by extending above the water. Vertical branches, pheumatophores, act as aerating organs filtering the salt out and allowing the leaves to receive fresh water.

Mangroves are thought to have originated in the Far East then over millions of years the plants and seeds floated west across the ocean to the Galapagos Islands. Mangroves live within specific zones in their ecosystem. Depending on the species, they occur along the shoreline, in sheltered bays and in estuaries. Mangroves also vary in height depending on species and environment.

How nature has provided for the spread of the mangrove plant is a marvel of evolution, perhaps no less amazing that the other evolutionary marvels for which the islands are known.


The Anatomy of a Mangrove Seed Pod

Mangrove seed pods are about ten inches long, and one end is heavier than the other. These pods can float on the currents for years, during which time they can absorb nutrients from the sea and the air and actually develop rudimentary roots and sometimes even small leaves. That is how they arrived in the Galapagos. The amazing thing is that mangroves literally plant themselves. When they reach an estuary or other sheltered area where the current is not so strong, they slow down, and the heavy end of the pod causes it to become vertical. When the heavy end of the pod touches sand or silt it can catch there and if the tide is not too strong, then when it recedes the weight of the pod forces it down into the sand for a ways. If the conditions are right, then when the tide rises again, it does not pull the pod loose, and the mangrove has planted itself!

Mangroves not only work to transform the landscape, but they provide a home for numerious land and sea creatures- exactly the creatures we have come to see. Click on the thumbnail images below for some of the best of our views of the mangroves here at Elizabeth Bay:

 

Aboard the Zodiac

This was our first extended trip on one of the Zodiacs; so far, we had just used them as shuttles to and from shore. But they turned out to be surprisingly roomy, and our group had no trouble turning this way and that to see all there was to see. The Zodiac can hold 18 people- 16 passengers, the boatman and a naturalist. When we got to the mangroves, I got the naturalist's approval to go sit on the ladder at the bow; I had a good view from there and could see everyone else as well. At one point, when we were slowly moving along the mangroves, I asked everyone to look at me and not move while I took a series of four photographs, which I stitched together into a panoramic view of our group. You can see that view below:

Click on the Image Above to View the Slideshow

Riding in the Zodiac through the mangroves was quite enjoyable, and in addition to the pictures we took of the wildlife and the mangroves themselves, we all (Yoost, Fred, Greg, and myself) took a number of pictures of our own group and of another Zodiac that had left just before us. You can see these pictures in the slideshow I've created.

To view the slideshow, just click on the image at left and I will open the slideshow in a new window. In the slideshow, you can use the little arrows in the lower corners of each image to move from one to the next, and the index numbers in the upper left of each image will tell you where you are in the series. When you are finished looking at the pictures, just close the popup window.

I made two movies that show our time in the Zodiac- one as we approached the mangroves and another illustrating how our naturalist guide pointed out flora and fauna and described them to us. You can use the players below to watch these movies:

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Approaching the Mangroves
 
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Our Naturalist

 

Sea Turtles

One of the fauna that we had come to see here in the mangroves was the sea turtle. We learned later that the early boats had seen a great many of them, but still, we saw a few.


Green Sea Turtle

The Galápagos green turtle is endemic to the tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific Ocean, and is the only population of green sea turtle to nest on the beaches of the Galápagos Islands. It has been difficult for researchers to obtain valid information on the lifestyles of the Galápagos green turtle due to their continuous migrations and submergence in the ocean; most information has been obtained through tagging experimentations. The Galápagos green turtle, along with all other subspecies, are classified as "threatened", despite the many conservation efforts being practiced.

The mature adult Galápagos green turtle is much smaller than those of other Green sea turtle populations; this may be because they are more genetically isolated. The carapace is dark in color, usually black to dark olive-brown, is oval in shape and tapers toward the tail. The carapace has a distinctive formation that is more sloped or domed than individuals of other populations. The largest Galapagos turtles are about three feet long. Their legs are shaped like flippers to aide in swimming; they are broad and generally flattened.

The head is rounded and lizard-like with no teeth and does not have the predominantly hooked beak of many other green sea turtles. The sexes are similar in most aspects except size, the females are slightly larger, and the males have a longer tail.


Green Sea Turtle Seen from the Zodiac

Galápagos green turtles’ behavior is similar to other populations, but the behavior of all sea turtles is difficult to track. Research indicates that the turtles are highly migratory and ingest many different variations of forage including some animal matter. The female green turtles are known to return to the same nesting beach every time they reproduce. This may be a result of comfort from past nesting success or it could be a result of returning to the origin of their own hatching beach. Populations have also been shown to return to the same foraging habitat. Analysis of genetic data shows that populations in the eastern Pacific are completely isolated from populations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. Mangrove trees provide forage and protection during the crucial stages of their lives. Can you spot the turtle in the mangroves here?

Common food sources for the mature green turtles in the Pacific are marine algae and eelgrasses, but they have been known to consume animal matter as well- although this may not be intentional. It may just be the result of consuming marine algae near the invertebrates. But it may also be intentional so as to provide important nutrients, minerals, or proteins not obtained from vegetation.

We did not see as many turtles as we later discovered were spotted by the earlier Zodiacs. This may have been due to their foraging habits related to the time of day, but we did see two or three of them. Fred and I each took at least one good movie of one of the turtles passing by the Zodiac; you can use the players below to watch these movies:

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The green sea turtles that we saw were certainly interesting, and we learned a good deal about them. A bit later on, we'll learn more as we visit a beach where they nest and lay eggs. But for now, we just snapped as many pictures as we could. I've selected the best of them to include here; click on the thumbnail images below to have a look:

No sooner had the Zodiac begun to move away from the mangroves that we got the opportunity to see two of the green sea turtles at once, and Fred took the panoramic shot below:

 

Striated Heron

Our Zodiac came out of the mangrove estuary and went a short distance along the shore of Isabela Island and we came upon another resident of the island- the striated heron. Also known as mangrove heron, little heron or green-backed heron, this bird is small for its species.


Striated Heron

Striated Herons are mostly non-migratory; their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to Japan and Australia, and in South America. This bird was long considered to be conspecific with the closely related North American species, the green heron, as well as the lava heron of the Galápagos Islands; today, each is recognized separately.

Adults have a blue-grey back and wings, white underparts, a black cap, a dark line extends from the bill to under the eye and short yellow legs. Juveniles are browner above and streaked below. These birds stand still at the water's edge and wait to ambush prey, and so are easier to see than many small heron species. They mainly eat small fish, frogs and aquatic insects. They sometimes use bait, dropping a feather or leaf carefully on the water surface and picking fish that come to investigate.

Click on the thumbnail images below to see two more good views of the striated heron:

Striated herons nest in a platform of sticks, usually built not too high off the ground in shrubs or trees but sometimes in sheltered locations on the ground, and often near water. The clutch is 2–5 eggs, which are pale blue. An adult bird was once observed in a peculiar and mysterious behavior: while on the nest, it would grab a stick in its bill and make a rapid back-and-forth motion with the head, like a sewing machine's needle. The significance of this behavior is completely unknown. Young birds will give a display when they feel threatened, by stretching out their necks and pointing the bill skywards. The striated heron is not endangered.

 

Galapagos Penguin

As the Zodiac crossed the mouth of the estuary to another part of the shoreline, we got our first view of the Galapagos Penguin. The Galapagos penguin is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is the only penguin that lives north of the equator in the wild. It can survive due to the cool temperatures resulting from the Humboldt Current and cool waters from great depths brought up by the Cromwell Current. The Galapagos penguin is one of the banded penguins, the other species of which live mostly on the coasts of Africa and mainland South America.


The Galapagos Penguin

The 5-pound, 20-inch Galapagos penguin is the second smallest species of penguin. They have a black head with a white border running from behind the eye, around the black ear-coverts and chin, to join on the throat. They have black-grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with two black bands across the breast. Juveniles differ in having a wholly dark head, greyer on side and chin, and no breast-band. The female penguins are smaller than the males, but are otherwise quite similar.

While ninety percent of the Galapagos penguins live among the western islands of Fernandina and Isabela, they also occur on Santiago, Bartolomé, northern Santa Cruz, and Floreana. The northern tip of Isabela crosses the equator, meaning that Galápagos penguins occasionally visit the northern hemisphere, the only penguins to do so.

The penguins stay in the archipelago. They stay by the Cromwell Current during the day since it is cooler and return to the land at night. They eat small schooling fish, mainly mullet, sardines, and sometimes crustaceans. They search for food only during the day and normally within a few kilometers of their breeding site. They depend on the cold nutrient-rich currents to bring them food.

The biggest problem for Galapagos penguins is keeping their cool. Their primary means of cooling off is going into the water, but they have other behavioral adaptations because of all the time they spend on land. They use two methods to keep cool on land. First, they stretch out their flippers and hunch forward to keep the sun from shining on their feet- where heat loss is great. They also pant, using evaporation to cool the throat and airways. Galapagos penguins protect their eggs and chicks from the hot sun by keeping them in deep crevices in the rocks.


The weather also affects the penguins' breeding behaviors. When the sea surface temperature warms (such as during an El Niño season), the penguins put off breeding, because their food becomes less abundant, and this reduces the chances of raising offspring successfully. They usually breed when the sea surface temperature is below 75°F, as this results in more food for them.

The species is endangered, with an estimated population size of around 1,500 individuals in 2004, according to a survey by the Charles Darwin Research Station. The population underwent an alarming decline of over 70% in the 1980s, but is slowly recovering. It is therefore the rarest penguin species (a status which is often falsely attributed to the yellow-eyed penguin). Population levels are influenced by the effects of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which reduces the availability of shoaling fish, leading to low reproduction or starvation. However, anthropogenic factors (e.g. oil pollution, fishing by-catch and competition) may be adding to the ongoing demise of this species. On Isabela Island, introduced cats, dogs, and rats attack penguins and destroy their nests. When in the water, they are preyed upon by sharks, fur seals, and sea lions.

There are fewer than 1000 breeding pairs of Galapagos penguins in the world; breeding begins when the sea surface temperature cools to about 75°, and usually occurs between May and January. The Galapagos penguin mates for life. It lays one or two eggs in places such as caves and crevices, protected from direct sunlight. One parent will always stay with the eggs or chicks while the other is absent for several days to feed. The parents usually rear only one child. If there is not enough food available, the nest may be abandoned.


Because of the Galapagos penguin's smaller size, it has many predators. On land, the penguins are preyed upon by crabs, snakes, rice rats, cats, hawks, and owls. While in the water they are preyed upon by sharks, fur seals, and sea lions. They face many hazards due to humans, as well as the hazards of unreliable food resources and volcanic activity. Illegal fishermen may interrupt the penguins’ nesting, and they are often caught in fishing nets by mistake.

Click on the thumbnail images below to see some additional pictures we took of the Galapagos penguins:

It was really neat to see the Galapagos penguins, although it would have been better if we had been closer to them. Thank goodness for Fred's excellent zoom!

 

The Great Blue Heron

Nearby, on the rocky lava-flow shore, we spotted a great blue heron. This large wading bird is common in the Galápagos Islands and throughout the Americas near the shores of open water and in wetlands.


A Great Blue Heron

These 5-pound birds are quite large, with a length of up to 54 inches, a wingspan of up to 75 inches and a height of up to 50 inches (although here in the Galapagos, they, like many animals found elsewhere, are somewhat smaller). Notable features of great blue herons include slaty (gray with a slight azure blue) flight feathers, a rusty-gray neck and a pale white head. The bill is dull yellowish, becoming orange briefly at the start of the breeding season, and the lower legs gray, also becoming orangey at the start of the breeding season.

Their call is a harsh croak. The heron is most vocal during the breeding season, but will call occasionally at any time of the year in territorial disputes or if disturbed. Nonvocal sounds include a loud bill snap, which males use to attract a female or to defend a nest site and which females use in response to bachelor males or within breeding pairs. Bill clappering, the rapid chattering of the tips of the bill, is very common between paired herons.

The great blue heron is found throughout most of North America, as far north as Alaska and the southern Canadian provinces. The range extends south through Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean to South America. Birds east of the Rocky Mountains in the northern part of their range are migratory and winter in Central America or northern South America. From the southern United States southwards, and on the Pacific coast, they are year-round residents. We got quite close to this particular heron, and you can click on the thumbnail images below to see some additional views of it:

The great blue heron can adapt to almost any wetland habitat in its range. They may be found in numbers in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines. They are quite adaptable and may be seen in heavily developed areas as long as they hold bodies of water bearing fish. Great blue herons rarely venture far from bodies of water but are occasionally seen flying over upland areas. They usually nest in trees or bushes near water's edge, often on islands or other isolated spots.

The primary food for the great blue heron is small fish, though it is also known to opportunistically feed on a wide range of shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents and other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and small birds. Primary prey is variable based on availability and abundance. Herons locate their food by sight and usually swallow it whole. Individuals usually forage while standing in water but will also feed in fields or drop from the air, or a perch, into water. As large wading birds, great blue herons are capable of feeding in deeper waters and thus are able to harvest from niche areas not open to most other heron species. Typically, the great blue heron feeds in shallow waters or at the water's edge.


This species usually breeds in colonies, in trees close to lakes or other wetland feeding areas. Trees of any type are used when available. When not, herons may nest on the ground, sagebrush, cacti, channel markers, artificial platforms, beaver mounds and duck blinds. Although nests are often reused for many years and herons are socially monogamous within a single breeding season, individuals usually choose new mates each year. Nest are usually about 20 inches across when first constructed, but since the nest may be used repeatedly year after year, they can grow quite large as males add construction to them. Human intrustion is the primary cause of nest failure.

The female lays three to six pale blue eggs, and one brood is raised each year. The first chick to hatch usually becomes more experienced in food handling and aggressive interactions with siblings, and so often grows more quickly than the other chicks. Young are fed by their parents for approximately 100 days, at the end of that time weighing almost 90% as much as an adult. Somewhere between 50-80 days they will take their first flight.

Predators of eggs and nestlings include vultures, ravens, crows, hawks, black bears and raccoons. Adult herons, due to their size, have few natural predators, but a few of the larger avian predators, such as eagles, have been known to kill both young and adults. Since herons spend most of their time in or near water, they are also in danger from alligators and crocodiles (where they exist). Using their considerable size and dagger-like bill, a full-grown heron can be a formidable foe.

We watched this particular bird for a few minutes, expecting it to catch some prey, but it either stood still or just walked slowly along the rocks.

 

The Galapagos Flightless Cormorant

On another patch of rocks nearby, we came upon a Galapagos flightless cormorant (also known as the Galapagos cormorant). This large bird is native to the Galapagos Islands, and an example of the highly unusual fauna there. It is unique in that it is the only cormorant that has lost the ability to fly.


A Galapagos Flightless Cormorant

This unique cormorant is found only in the Galapagos, and even here, on just two islands- Fernandina (the youngest island) and here on the west coast of Isabela. The population has undergone severe fluctuations; the 1983 El Niño event resulted in a 50% reduction of the population to just 400 individuals. The population recovered quickly, however, and now numbers well over 1500. This species inhabits the rocky shores of the volcanic islands on which it occurs. It forages in shallow coastal waters, including bays and straits and rarely ventures further than one kilometer from the breeding areas.

These cormorants evolved on an island habitat that was free of predators. Having no enemies, and taking its food primarily through diving along the food-rich shorelines, the bird eventually became flightless. However, since their discovery by man, the islands have not remained free of predators: cats, dogs, and pigs have been introduced to the islands over the years. In addition, these birds have no fear of humans and can easily be approached and picked up.

The fact that this uniquely adapted bird is found in such a small range and in such small numbers greatly increases its vulnerability to chance events, such as the marine perturbations such as those caused by El Niño events- which are becoming increasingly extreme. Because of these factors, the flightless cormorant is one of the world's rarest birds. Once "endangered", it was downlisted to "vulnerable" in 2011.

We were some distance from the cormorant, so Fred used his zoom lens to take some additional pictures of the bird; in some of the pictures he turned on the "starburst" effect. You can click on the thumbnail images below to see some of these pictures:

Nesting tends to take place during the coldest months (July–October), when marine food is at its most abundant and the risk of heat stress to the chicks is decreased. At this time, breeding colonies consisting of around 12 pairs form. The courtship behavior of this species begins in the sea; the male and female swim around each other with their necks bent into a snake-like position. They then move onto land. The bulky seaweed nest, located just above the high-tide mark, is augmented with "gifts" including pieces of flotsam such as rope and bottle caps, which are presented to the female by the male.

The female generally lays three whitish eggs per clutch, though usually only one chick survives. Both male and female share in incubation. Once the eggs have hatched, both parents continue to share responsibilities of feeding and brooding (protecting the chicks from exposure to heat and cold), but once the chicks are old enough to be independent, and if food supplies are plentiful, the female will leave the male to carry out further parenting, and she will leave to find a new mate. Females can breed three times in a single year. Thus, although their population size is small, flightless cormorants can recover fairly quickly from environmental disasters.

 

The Blue-Footed Booby

The last of the different animals we saw was one that is an iconic resident of the Galapagos Islands (although, contrary to popular belief, found elsewhere as well)- the Blue-Footed Booby. This member of the Sulidae family is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue feet, which is a sexually selected trait.


A Pair of Blue-Footed Boobies

The natural breeding habitats of the blue-footed booby are the tropical and subtropical islands of the Pacific Ocean. It can be found from the Gulf of California down along the western coasts of Central and South America down to Peru. Approximately one half of all breeding pairs nest on the Galápagos Islands. Its diet mainly consists of fish, which it obtains by diving and sometimes swimming underwater in search of its prey. While it sometimes hunts alone, the blue-footed booby mainly hunts in groups. Later on in the cruise, we'll have a chance to actually watch the boobies fishing, so we'll say more about this activity later.

The blue‑footed booby usually lays one to three eggs at a time. The species practices asynchronous hatching, which means that eggs that are laid first are hatched first, resulting in a growth inequality and size disparity between siblings. This results in facultative siblicide in times of food scarcity, making the blue-footed booby an effective model for studying parent-offspring conflict and sibling rivalry.

Click on the thumbnail images below to see some other good pictures we got of the booby today:

The blue-footed booby is about 30 inches long, on average, and weighs just over 3 pounds; the female is slightly larger than the male. Its wings are long and pointed, and are brown in color. The neck and head of the blue-footed booby are light brown with white streaks while the belly and underside exhibit pure white plumage. Its eyes are placed on either side of its bill and oriented towards the front, enabling excellent binocular vision. Its eyes are a distinctive yellow, with the male having more yellow in its irises than the female. Blue-footed booby chicks have black beaks and feet and are clad in a layer of soft white down.

Since the blue-footed booby frequently obtains fish by diving headlong into the water, it has permanently closed nostrils for this purpose, necessitating breathing through the corners of its mouth.

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Of course, the bird's most notable characteristic is its blue-colored feet, which can range in color from a pale turquoise to a deep aquamarine. Males and younger birds have lighter feet while females have darker feet. Its blue feet play a key role in courtship rituals and breeding, with the male visually displaying its feet to attract mates during the breeding season.

We'll get some better views of the boobies and their blue feet later, but these feet are so intriguing, we should say more now. Basically, males display their feet in an elaborate mating ritual by lifting their feet up and down while strutting before the female. The brightness of the blue color in an indicator of how healthy the bird is, as it takes significant energy resources to maintain. So birds look for bright feet, and the trait is thus propagated generation after generation. Want to know more? Use the movie player at right to watch an excerpt from the TV series "Nature".

The boobies were the last of the different animals we saw this morning, and we turned to head back to the Xpedition.

 

Returning to the Xpedition

The Zodiac that left before us headed back to the Xpedition just before we went to look at the heron, and as it was heading back, Fred made a nice panorama of it, one of the small islands off the shore of Isabela, and the Xpedition itself. That panorama is below:

And as we were heading back to the Xpedition ourselves, Fred and I took a few more good pictures of the bay surrounding us and of our group on board. You can click on the thumbnail images below to have a look at some of these:

 

Our First Lunch Aboard the Celebrity Xpedition

Lunch today was an Italian buffet, and it was quite good. Fred and I ate with Yoost and Greg and a few other of the friends we have made already. After lunch, and before we watched a BBC film on the Galapagos in the Lounge, I relaxed on deck while Fred made a movie of a crew exercise (lowering one of the lifeboats). Not everyone can fit into the two enclosed lifeboats; the Zodiacs can also be used since we are never far from one or another of the islands. Anyway, if you'd be curious to see what the exercise looked like, you can use the player below to watch Fred's film:

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Click on the Image Above to View the Slideshow

At 3PM there was an "Advanced Deep-Water Snorkel" activity which we skipped, since we were novices. The next shore excursion was at four-thirty. While we waited, we just wandered around the ship, and Fred used his zoom lens to get some pictures of Isabela Island at Tagus Cove and also of the snorkelers. You can see some of these pictures in the slideshow at left.

To view the slideshow, just click on the image at left and I will open the slideshow in a new window. In the slideshow, you can use the little arrows in the lower corners of each image to move from one to the next, and the index numbers in the upper left of each image will tell you where you are in the series. When you are finished looking at the pictures, just close the popup window.

 

Galapagos Shore Excursion (4a):
          A Short Walk on Isabela

While we were having lunch and watching the film, the Xpedition has moved northwest along the coast of Isabela to a point between it and the youngest island- Fernandina. This afternoon, we'll be taking the Zodiacs for a ride and another landing on Isabela Island- this time at Tagus Cove- for another nature walk.


The daily bulletin described this excursion thusly:

                         "Tagus Cove is west of Darwin Volcano on Isabela Island and was once a favorite spot for pirates and whalers. At the start of the walk is a small cave where we find inscriptions dating back to the 1800s. Its name originates from a British warship that traveled through the islands in 1814 in search of Galapagos Tortoise for food.

The trail is packed sand and gravel and passes by Darwin Lake. Sitting in the crater of a tuff cone, the lake is saltwater and has provoked debate about its formation. Along the path you can see various land birds and characteristic vegetation of the arid zone. The lava fields of Darwin Volcano are visible at a high point at the trail's end.

Dry, but tricky landing. The 2-mile trail has 150 steps, packed sand, gravel, at times narrow and steep
Duration: About 2 hours"

                        

We left the ship on one of the Zodiacs right about 4:30PM.

 

Landing at Tagus Cove

The Zodiac ride in to the landing at Tagus Cove was pretty routine, and we didn't take any pictures on the way. There is a little concrete pier here, so we could just step off the Zodiac onto dry land.


Fred at Tagus Cove

It was interesting and a little funny in that right after we landed, a sea lion flopped up out of the water right near the pier, came up towards us and then, just before we would have to have moved back from it, the sea lion flopped down and promptly zonked out. You can see this interesting progression if you click on the thumbnail images below, left to right:

This morning we saw lots of different animals, but this afternoon's hike will be to experience the landscape of Isabela island.

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Our guide took the time to explain a bit about the island, and how this area of it was not much for wildlife viewing (save for the sea lion that followed us up on shore, and the few birds and lizards that we saw along the trail). You can use the player at right to watch a bit of his introduction.

He also pointed out the little cave where the inscriptions date back more than a century. Then we could get close and look at them ourselves. I took four pictures of the inscriptions, and you can see these pictures if you click on the thumbnail images below:

After a short introduction to the hike, we headed off on the trail that led up some steps from the landing area and out onto the island.

 

Darwin's Lake


Fred and Tagus Cove

The hike to the overlook for Darwin's Lake began with those 150 steps that we'd been told we'd encounter. As we were climbing them, Fred and I exchanged pictures of ourselves on the stairs, and you can see those pictures here (me) and here (Fred).

On the way up, Fred spotted (no pun intended) another lava lizard; they are, apparently, quite common. As we ascended, we had great views of the cove behind us.

After a quick 20-minute climb up the stairs and along the trail, we arrived at the first overlook for Darwin's Lake.


Aerial View of Our Hike

So you can orient yourself to the pictures we took, at right is an aerial view of Tagus Cove and the area of Isabela Island nearby. On it, I've marked the route of our hike. We made two stops at two different viewpoints for Darwin's Lake; the perspectives of the pictures taken at each were quite different.

The first stop was just east of the lake, so our views were mainly to the west (although we could also see towards the cove). Darwin's Lake is a small lagoon in a crater very near Tagus Cove that is thought to have been formed by a tidal wave when a volcano on Fernandina Island erupted. The lake is a very unusual feature being slightly above sea level and twice as salty as sea water. As water evaporates from the lake, water is replenished from the sea via the porous rocks that separate the sea from the water in the crater. There is a line of salt encrustation along the water's edge of the lake.

Our guide told us that our second stop would be a better vantage point, but we thought this one was nice enough to take a bunch of pictures. But the ones from the second stop were better, so I am only going to include a few of the pictures from this first stop. You can click on the thumbnail images below to have a look at them:

The group had headed off ahead of Fred and I, since we were taking pictures, but we eventually followed them a few hundred more feet up the trail, which at this point was right at the edge of the crater. The views from our second stop were indeed more interesting, and I began by letting my little camera take a panoramic view:


Darwin's Lake and Tagus Cove on Isabela Island, Galapagos

Of course, if you look closely in the cove, you can see the Xpedition anchored a mile or two offshore. We milled about here for ten minutes or so as our guide explained how the lake was formed. I made a movie here, but it really doesn't add anything to the panorama above.

Click on the Image Above to View the Slideshow

From Darwin's Lake, we continued in a northerly direction, ascending to a high point on what was the rim of the volcano in whose crater Darwin's Lake now sits. The path just wound through low scrub and a generally arid landscape, until, at the end of the trail, we climbed some steps to the summit of the rim. The pictures in the slideshow at left are representative of what we saw along the way.

To view the slideshow, just click on the image at left and I will open the slideshow in a new window. In the slideshow, you can use the little arrows in the lower corners of each image to move from one to the next, and the index numbers in the upper left of each image will tell you where you are in the series. When you are finished looking at the pictures, just close the popup window.

 

At the Summit of Our Hike

When we climbed the trail to the summit, the views that spread out before us were simply amazing. While we had seen Isabela's wildlife this morning, we now saw its landscape. This young island does not follow the vegetation zones of the other islands; the relatively new lava fields and surrounding soils have not developed the sufficient nutrients required to support the varied life zones found on the other Galapagos islands.


Fred and I at the Hike Summit

On this island, unlike the older ones, the volcano cones have not eroded nearly so much; two of them, Volcan Wolf and Cerro Azul, are still high enough to stick up through the clouds and are arid on top. But the large size of this island has had its own effect on the animal life. For example, Isabela's large size and notable topography created barriers for the slow-moving tortoises; apparently the creatures were unable to cross lava flows and other obstacles, and so several different sub-species of tortoise developed.

As you might expect, we took a number of pictures from the summit- so many that I've had to boil them down to just those of particular interest. In one, Fred zoomed in on the northern end of Isabela and Cerro Azul; in others, we just tried to show the landscape. You can click on the thumbnail images below to see a few of these pictures:

But the only way to do the landscape justice was to view it in panorama. For Fred's part, he used his camera's capabilities to take a native one, including some of the people at the summit to give it scale. That panorama is below:


A Panoramic View from the Summit of Our Hike

For my part, I wanted to be a bit more ambitious, so I took a series of 9 separate photographs, planning on stitching them together into a single, 360° panoramic view. I almost succeeded; one of my photos was out of line enough to make it look odd when inserted at the end. Sadly, that was the picture above of Fred and I at the summit. But the result was still impressive, I think, and you can use the scrollable window below to have a look at it. When you first see the image, you are looking pretty much due north.

Before I left the summit, I took a few more pictures. I'll never be back here again, so I thought the more the better. I began with a camera-created panorama:

I actually had to try that one a number of times; there is a trick to moving the camera steadily while it is snapping pictures.


Then I did a composite of the valley before us; it is at right. Finally, click on the thumbnail images below for four other pictures from the summit:

 

The Walk Back

Of course, on the walk back, we just retraced our path up. But as is often true on hikes, you get different views in different directions, and so we took a few more pictures on the way back of things we'd missed on the ascent. You can click on the thumbnail images below to see some of these:

Surprisingly, when we got back to the pier, our sea lion friend who had seen us off on our hike was still right where we left him, sound asleep. But as we were getting our lifejackets on, I saw one eye open, and by the time we were ready to board the Zodiac, he was up and flapping around. Below are two pictures and a movie of him:

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Galapagos Shore Excursion (4b):
          A Zodiac Ride Along Isabela Island

If you will refer back to the aerial view above, you'll see that our Zodiac tour will go along the west side of Tagus Cove and down to the rocky point to the southwest. We will be observing wildlife, as much as we can, and as much as our naturalist can point out. As we did with our mangrove tour this morning, I'll just group the pictures we took by the particular animal we were observing.

 

Galapagos Flightless Cormorant

The first of the Galapagos fauna that we came to were a group of flightless cormorants- like the one we saw on the mangrove tour this morning. As we learned earlier, the bird gradually lost the ability to fly in response to its environment; it had no natural predators, and so did not have to fly. Nature, in response, allowed the bird to grow larger, sacrificing its wings and flight capability.


The Galapagos Flightless Cormorant

Like all cormorants, this bird has webbed feet and powerful legs that propel it through ocean waters as it seeks its prey of fish, eels, small octopuses, and other small creatures. They feed near the sea floor and no more than 100 m offshore.

The flightless cormorant is the largest extant member of its family, 35–40 in. in length and weighing 5.5-11 lbs., and its wings are about one-third the size that would be required for a bird of its proportions to fly. The keel on the breastbone, where birds attach the large muscles needed for flight, is also greatly reduced.

Fred got some really good pictures of the cormorants (using his zoom); if you click on the thumbnail images below, you can see a selection of them:

The flightless cormorants look slightly like a duck, except for their short, stubby wings. The upperparts are blackish and the underparts are brown. The long beak is hooked at the tip and the eye is turquoise. Like all members of the cormorant family, all four toes are joined by webbed skin. Males and females are similar in appearance, although males tend to be larger. Juveniles are generally similar to adults but differ in that they are glossy black in colour with a dark eye. Adults produce low growling vocalizations.

Like other cormorants, this bird's feathers are not waterproof, and they spend time after each dive drying their small wings in the sunlight. Their flight and contour feathers are much like those of other cormorants, but their body feathers are much thicker, softer, denser, and more hair-like. They produce very little oil from their preen gland; it is the air trapped in their dense plumage that prevents them from becoming waterlogged.

 

Blue-Footed Boobies

This morning, we saw three or four blue-footed boobies on the rocks near Elizabeth Bay. This afternoon, here at Tagus Cove, we got to see quite a few of them, and since they were just standing near their nests on the rocks, we were able to get quite good pictures.


A Blue-Footed Booby at Tagus Cove

As we mentioned earlier, the blue feet of this particular booby are not just happenstance. On the contrary, they are the result of thousands of generations of evolution. These boobies are an excellent example of natural selection. Perhaps a genetic mutation resulted in some long dead booby being the first of his kind to have bluish feet, and it is easy to see how this unique characteristic might have attracted mates. The result was rather more boobies with this characteristic. Over eons, the blue color became bluer as mates were attracted not just to the color but to how much of it a booby had.

But how, exactly, is it thought that this process worked? First off, it appears that the brightness of the blue color on the feet decreases with age. So, looking at it from the female perspective, they would tend to mate with younger males with brighter feet, who have higher fertility and increased ability to provide paternal care than do older males. In a cross-fostering experiment, it was observed that foot color reflects paternal contribution to raising chicks; chicks raised by foster fathers with brighter feet grew faster than chicks raised by foster males with duller feet.

Females continuously evaluate their partners' condition based on foot color. In one experiment, males whose partners had laid a first egg in the nest had their feet dulled by make-up. The female partners laid smaller second eggs a few days later. As duller feet usually indicate a decrease in health and possibly genetic quality, it is adaptive for these females to decrease their investment in the second egg. The smaller second eggs contained less yolk concentration, which could influence embryo development, hatching success, and subsequent chick growth and survival. The experiment suggested that female blue-footed boobies use the attractiveness and perceived genetic quality of their mates to determine how much resources they should allocate to their eggs. This supports the differential allocation theory, which predicts that parents invest more in the care of their offspring when paired with attractive mates.

Before we look at the male perspective, here are the best of the pictures we took of the blue-footed boobies this afternoon. Just click on the thumbnail images below to have a look:

Getting back to the blue feet, it seems that males also assess their partner's reproductive value and adjust their own investment in the brood according to their partner's condition. Females that lay larger and brighter eggs are in better condition and have greater reproductive value. Therefore, males tend to display higher attentiveness and parental care to larger eggs, since those eggs were produced by a female with apparent good genetic quality. Smaller, duller eggs garnered less paternal care. Female foot color is also observed as an indication of perceived female condition. In one experiment, the color of eggs was muted by researchers, it was found that males were willing to exercise similar care for both large eggs and small eggs if his mate had brightly colored feet, whereas males paired with dull-footed females only incubated larger eggs.

 

Fur Seals

We also passed a couple of fur seals resting up on a rocky ledge, and we took a few pictures of them. These are below:


After an interesting, enjoyable and informative Zodiac ride, we went back to the Celebrity Xpedition.

 

Evening on the Celebrity Xpedition

Back on board the Celebrity Xpedition, our first full day in the Galapagos Islands was coming to a close. And it was coming to a close with a beautiful sunset.


Sunset at Isabela Island

Before dinner, we relaxed at the stern of the ship, out in the open. They were serving today's specialty cocktail- the blue-footed boobie (a rum concoction with banana liqueur and curacao for the blue color. They were quite good and I had a couple before switching to Bailey's Irish Cream.

We took some candid pictures while we were relaxing, and you can click on the thumbnail images in the first row below to see some of them. As you can see at left, the sunset was indeed a beautiful one, and we took some additional pictures of it. Click on the thumbnail images in the second row below to see some of those:

To conclude our day, I took a series of pictures at sunset that span the view seaward from Tagus Cove and then stitched them together in a long panorama; that panoramic view is below:

This brought our second full day in the Galapagos Islands to a close.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.


November 12, 2014: Santiago & Bartolome Islands
November 10, 2014: Santiago & Rabida Islands
Return to the Index for Our Galapagos Adventure