Floreana Island
Today we really packed a lot of activities into an already jam-packed itinerary! Our visit to Floreana Island focused on two very rare and range-restricted avian species. The day commenced early this morning with a pre-breakfast visit to Post Office Bay, where postcards were left off and others were picked up from the famous barrel. This is a tradition that has been shared by buccaneers, pirates, sailors and visitors alike for hand delivery worldwide.
We then continued sailing to Champion Island, actually a tiny islet that holds part of the tiny remnant population of Floreana/Charles mockingbird. We boarded our Zodiacs and set out in search of this endangered species, ultimately with great success. Among the many sea birds seen along the rocky coastline we watched red-billed tropicbirds circle around us making various attempts to land at their nest sites, and stunning swallow-tailed gulls in courting display. To top that off, we managed to see and photograph at least six of these special “mockers” at very close range. Many of us enjoyed yet another snorkeling experience before boarding ship for lunch.
We later circumnavigated Enderby Island in search of red-footed boobies, and finally found a couple of them along with two waved albatross that flew right past us. As we navigated on, we continued watching sea birds and were thrilled as a fairly large pod of bottle-nosed dolphins came over to greet us as we headed to the port and village of Velasco Ibarra, Floreana’s only settlement. Here we boarded (or “piled into” would be a better way of saying it) a couple of rather funky “chivas” or local open-air buses, to travel up into the highlands.
In the cool “garua” or mist in this quite lush and green area, we slowly walked along the road and searched for our second prized target . . . the medium tree finch, whose entire world population can only be found here! Time was short and we truly made the best of it; we found and photographed several individuals in time to return to board the National Geographic Islander for our final short sail to Punta Cormorant for our last late afternoon outing. En route to this site, oohs and ahhs rang out as we observed a mother and baby Bryde’s whale in the off-shore waters.
We finally went ashore again for a wet landing and a walk to the brackish lagoon that lies just behind the beach head. We were greeted here by spectacular close looks at a band of beautiful feeding flamingos and an amazing 200 or so whimbrels along with other local and migrant shorebirds. As this incredible day began to wind down, it was hard to believe that we did so much and saw so many wonderful things, including two species with among the smallest total ranges in the world! I know we all feel so privileged to be here.
Today we really packed a lot of activities into an already jam-packed itinerary! Our visit to Floreana Island focused on two very rare and range-restricted avian species. The day commenced early this morning with a pre-breakfast visit to Post Office Bay, where postcards were left off and others were picked up from the famous barrel. This is a tradition that has been shared by buccaneers, pirates, sailors and visitors alike for hand delivery worldwide.
We then continued sailing to Champion Island, actually a tiny islet that holds part of the tiny remnant population of Floreana/Charles mockingbird. We boarded our Zodiacs and set out in search of this endangered species, ultimately with great success. Among the many sea birds seen along the rocky coastline we watched red-billed tropicbirds circle around us making various attempts to land at their nest sites, and stunning swallow-tailed gulls in courting display. To top that off, we managed to see and photograph at least six of these special “mockers” at very close range. Many of us enjoyed yet another snorkeling experience before boarding ship for lunch.
We later circumnavigated Enderby Island in search of red-footed boobies, and finally found a couple of them along with two waved albatross that flew right past us. As we navigated on, we continued watching sea birds and were thrilled as a fairly large pod of bottle-nosed dolphins came over to greet us as we headed to the port and village of Velasco Ibarra, Floreana’s only settlement. Here we boarded (or “piled into” would be a better way of saying it) a couple of rather funky “chivas” or local open-air buses, to travel up into the highlands.
In the cool “garua” or mist in this quite lush and green area, we slowly walked along the road and searched for our second prized target . . . the medium tree finch, whose entire world population can only be found here! Time was short and we truly made the best of it; we found and photographed several individuals in time to return to board the National Geographic Islander for our final short sail to Punta Cormorant for our last late afternoon outing. En route to this site, oohs and ahhs rang out as we observed a mother and baby Bryde’s whale in the off-shore waters.
We finally went ashore again for a wet landing and a walk to the brackish lagoon that lies just behind the beach head. We were greeted here by spectacular close looks at a band of beautiful feeding flamingos and an amazing 200 or so whimbrels along with other local and migrant shorebirds. As this incredible day began to wind down, it was hard to believe that we did so much and saw so many wonderful things, including two species with among the smallest total ranges in the world! I know we all feel so privileged to be here.
