Ted's Excellent Pictures Taken in the Galapagos Islands
April 2019



Red-footed Booby







Hipster Booby with goatee
- this would make "Chuck" Darwin turn over in his grave !



Blue-footed Booby, at ease









A younger, immature booby

Huh?

What did you just call me?



Nazca Booby

Him: When I come home from work I expect dinner on the table!
And not just some regurgitated worm either!!

Her: Take that! In your eye, buster!!

No respect



Swallow-tailed Gulls




Swallow-tailed parent yelling at the kid







There goes the neighbourhood



Male Frigatebird

During breeding season the male frigatebirds are usually seen on the ground preening themselves,
inflating their red pouch like this to impress the bachelorettes flying overhead



Who can resist this heart-throb?



Wingspan up to 7.5 feet
"the largest wing area to body weight ratio of any bird"



A happy couple ...

... I think



A typical day on Genovesa Island







The Short-eared Owl blends into the environment quiet well









Yellow Warbler



Darwin Ground Finch

Darwin observed the finches beaks varied from island to island depending on the food available
and proposed they evolved that way over time through natural selection



Galapagos Mockingbird



Galapagos Dove



Galapagos Waved Albatross having a snog

Oh, hello! We're the Albatrosses!



Great Heron, going up



Sally Lightfoot Crab





Galapagos Penguins
"the only penguins found north of the equator"
(Just a fraction of a degree north : the Galapagos Islands straddle the equator)
(The guided boat tours involve crossing the equator at sea a couple of times)



Q: What's for dinner? A: Crab!



Sea turtle track : the depressions in the sand are the nests



Bartolomé Island

Bartolomé is one of the youngest volcanic islands in the archipelago



Spatter Cone, Bartolomé Island



Pinnacle Rock, Bartolomé Island



The view from the top of an extinct volcano cone

Just proving I was there



Sunken volcanic crater





Little Lava Lizards

Male

Female



Lava rock and washed up coconut shell
... or ...
Donald Trump in a few more years?



Marine Iguanas - the only iguanas in the world that take to the sea
(out of necessity - it's all about the availability of food)







Another island, another variation







Land Iguanas on Santa Cruz Island are very patient with photographers








Another island, South Plaza, another variation
(I think this one was posing)

Is that a smirk?





Yet another island (Santa Fe), yet another variation
(They seem happier and fattier here)



As John Cleese would say, "This is an ex-iguana!!"




And now for something completely different...


Almost forgot - there are of course giant tortoises in the Galapagos



They've been here 2 - 3 million years and have all the time in the world
(believed to live around 170 years)



Different island, different carapace shape - it depends on if the island is arid or humid; if the vegetation is high or low
This saddle-backed carapace (shell) evolved on arid islands, allowing their heads to reach up to cactus pads for example.

Some say the islands were names after the old Spanish name for tortoise, galápago.


Not amused

... or stuck







The front of a shy tortoise
(At least, I think it's the front!)



South Plaza Island



Panorama (scroll right →)



Near Dragon Hill, Santa Cruz Island



Darwin Bay, Genovesa Island





















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