GALAPAGOS: August 2011 (Part 2)
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Aug 26, 2011 | by Kevin Loughlin
Our first morning in the islands offered a wonderful jaunt to one of the newer visitor sites, Dragon Hill, on the western side of the island of Santa Cruz. The “dry” landing was a bit slippery and “Ecuadorian baby steps” were needed to slowly make our way up the bank to dry rock.
Once on dry land we were treated to wonderful volcanic scenery with a view of Dragon Hill in the background.
The area, once void of Land Iguanas, is now a rich nesting area for these magnificent creatures. The Darwin Station has a captive breeding program which has now released about 50 pair of Land Iguanas to the area. We found several nest burrows which is a great sign they are doing well!
Black-necked Stilts, Greater Flamingos, American Oyster Catchers and Ruddy Turnstones were all found during our walk along the brine-filled lagoons.
A Cactus Finch, one of the 13 species of Darwin’s finches, appropriately probed and pecked at an Opuntia Cactus pad. Notice the elongated bill that appears flush with the bird’s forehead… a diagnostic trait of this species.