Birds of Santiago and Rabida Islands

Our last full day of time in the Galapagos was spent touring Santiago and Rabida Islands. Notable for the very bright red sand on one and dark black sand on the other, it was a day of contrasts.

1. Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

2. Frigatebird with fish

Battle Royale! by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

3. Dogfight!

Battle Royale! by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

4. Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

5. Seeing double?

Seeing double? by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

6. Blue-Footed Booby inflight

Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) inflight by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

7. Going in!

Going in! by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

8. Galapagos Dove

Galápagos Dove (Zenaida galapagoensis) by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

As usual, there are a lot of other pictures too.. many of seals and sealions. The full set of the day is:

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dragons…th/7548072656/

Birds of Isla Fernandina and Isla Isabela

Day 5 of our time on the Galapagos brought us to Isla Fernandina and the west coast of Isabela. The snorkeling was amazing (turtles, turtles, turtles!!) and it was our only chance to see a Galapagos Hawk.

Here are the birds of the day:

1. Galapagos Hawk:

Galapagos Hawk (Buteo galapagoensis) by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

2. The omnipresent Brown Pelican:

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

3. Wandering Tattler

Wandering Tattler (Tringa Incana) by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

4. Flightless Cormorant (explaining to an Iguana why he can’g fly?)

Flightless Cormorant (Phalacrocorax harrisi) by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

5. Young Galapagos Penguin Molting

Young Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) molting. by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

6. Brown Noddy and chick

Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) with chick by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

7. Blue-footed Booby on the cliffs.

Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) by DragonSpeed, on Flickr

The whole day’s set can be seen at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dragons…7630377805080/

Oh, and the turtle video from snorkeling is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJqNVtFCJ6Y