When visitors to the Galapagos
Islands are asked what the major determining factor behind
deciding to take their Galapagos Island tours was, ranking
high among nearly all respondents was the chance to see
the Galapagos birds. It may come as somewhat of a surprise
to learn then that in fact the Galapagos Islands have
a surprisingly small bird population - with only 58 resident
species.
Nonetheless, of this relatively small number of resident
species of Galapagos birds, over 29 different Galapagos
birds' species are endemic to the islands (or their surrounding
waters). What's more, it's the only place north of the
equator where you'll have the chance to see a penguin!
So, if you're thinking of taking some time-out to go and
do some bird-watching in the Galapagos Islands, make sure
you keep a careful eye out for the following Galapagos
birds endemic to the islands:
Boobies
The islands boast three different kinds of species of
the boobies - the red footed, blue footed and masked (Boobies).
Of these three different species of Galapagos Islands
boobies, the most commonly seen (in numbers) are the Galapagos
blue footed boobies.
As well as being amazing fishing birds, diving from heights
of over 8 meters to catch the fish below them, Galapagos
Islands blue footed boobies are also famous for their
colourful courtship dance. Overall, the blue footed boobies
are often remarked upon as being one of the most attractive,
interesting and fun of the Galapagos birds to see on Galapagos
tours.
If you would like the chance to see one of the Galapagos
Islands blue footed boobies, you need to make sure that
you take a Galapagos tour that follows the coastline of
any of the islands.
Cormorants
A large number of bird-watchers go on Galapagos Island
tours just to see this bird. The Galapagos Islands cormorants
are the only known flightless cormorant species in the
world. It's commonly believed that the Galapagos Islands
cormorants became flightless because they adapted to swimming
so well they no longer needed to fly. An alternative view
of the reason why the cormorants are flightless is because
cormorants have no known predator on the islands - thus,
they became too lazy to fly!
Whatever the reason may be, flightless cormorants are
a very sought after bird species on any Galapagos Island
tours and if you would like to see them you need to visit
the most westerly coastline of Fernandina and Isabela
islands, as this is the only place where they can be found.
Finches
No Galapagos Islands tour can be considered complete without
seeing the Galapagos Islands finches - also known as the
Darwin finches. You'll be pleased to know then that it
shouldn't be too hard to locate and find one of the finches
- they're all over the islands!
They're also one of the tamest of the Galapagos birds:
it's possible to have them eating out of the palm of your
hand before the day is out!
Frigatebird
There are three different species of frigatebird on the
Galapagos Islands - the great, the magnificent and the
minor.
The magnificent frigatebird is often seen by visitors
on Galapagos tours as being the biggest scoundrels because
they don't like to catch fish themselves; preferring to
steal the fish caught by smaller birds! To be fair to
the magnificent frigatebird, however, due to its large
wing-span this bird is unable submerge itself in the water
to catch fish - so it kind of has to steal the fish off
smaller birds.
What's more, the magnificent frigatebird is commonly believed
to be one of the most spectacular birds on the Galapagos
Islands during its mating time - when the male bird will
inflate the large red sac under its beak, making it resemble
a big red balloon, which it'll then emphasis by spreading,
and frantically flapping, its wings.
The best time of year to see magnificent frigatebirds
is during March-April, as this is the peak of their mating
period. Also, you need to visit Geneovesa, San Cristobel
or North Seymour islands if you want to make sure you
get a good sighting.
Hawks
Due to abundance of lizards, iguanas (especially young
iguanas) and other reptiles on the Galapagos Islands,
Galapagos hawks can be seen on nearly all of islands.
Like all hawks, they're adept flyers and divers, with
especially keen eyesight.
Penguin
Living north of the equator, the Galapagos Islands penguin
is commonly believed to be the most northerly species
of penguin found anywhere in the world. At only 35 centimetres
tall, they're also believed to be one of the smallest
breeds of penguin found anywhere in the world.
If you want to see one of the penguins on any of the Galapagos
tours, you'll need to make sure you travel to the cooler
waters around Fernandina, Isabela and Bartolome islands.
You'll also need to make sure you get up quite early;
the penguins like to set off on their day's business between
5 and 7 a.m.
