Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Baby Reaching In Sideways
No, the mother is not about to swallow the baby. It is the baby that is reaching in to feed from the mother’s catch!
Galapagos Birds – Not What it Looks Like
Category Archives: Galapagos Islands
Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Baby Reaching Out
Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Baby Reaching Out
A baby chick reaches out to the mother – why?
Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Baby Reaching Out Deep
To feed, of course!
Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Baby Chick
Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Baby Chick
A cute and fluffy baby frigatebird
Galapagos Birds – A Young Frigatebird
Galapagos Birds – A Baby Frigatebird
It almost appears that this frigatebird is sitting on its wings
Galapagos Birds – Female Frigatebirds
Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Protecting the Nest
Female frigatebirds are black, but have a white breast and lower neck sides, a brown band on the wings, and a blue eye-ring that is diagnostic of the female of the species.
Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Spreading its Wings5
Galapagos Birds – Frigatebird Spreading Its Wings
The Magnificent Frigatebird is 100 cm (39 in) long with a 215 cm (85 in) wingspan.
Galapagos Birds – Swallow-tailed Gull in Flight
Galapagos Birds – Swallow-tailed Gull in Flight
The grace of the gull captured in flight
Galapagos Sea Lions – A Little Disagreement
Galapagos Sea Lions – A Little Disagreement
Not only are sea lions social, they are also quite vocal. Adult males often bark in long, loud and distinctive repeated sequences. Females and juveniles do not produce this repetitive bark, but the younger pups will growl. A little growling going on here …
Galapagos Sea Lions – Motherly Love
Galapagos Sea Lions – Motherly Love
The static and social interaction between mother-offspring pairs is a central social unit in most mammalian groups, as well as these sea lions. The cow will nurture a pup for up to three years. In that time, the cow and the pup will recognize each other’s bark from the rest of the colony.
Galapagos Sea Lions – Feeding Pose
Galapagos Sea Lions – Feeding Pose
The Galapagos sea lion mothers will take the young pups with them into the water while nursing until around the 11th month, when the pups are weaned from their mother’s milk and become dependent on their own hunting skill.
Galapagos Sea Lion Against a Natural Backdrop
Galapagos Sea Lion Against a Natural Backdrop
The wind and rain washed cliff with its interesting designs makes a great backdrop for this Galapagos sea lion
Galapagos Sea Lion Basking
Galapagos Sea Lion Basking
Being fairly social, and one of the most numerous species in the Galápagos archipelago, they are often spotted sun-bathing on sandy shores or rock groups or gliding gracefully through the surf. Their loud bark, playful nature, and graceful agility in water make them the “welcoming party” of the islands.
Galapagos Sea Lion – Looking Up
Galapagos Sea Lion – Looking Up
Momentarily distracted from its sleep by humans, this sea lion lifts its head to check out what is going on
Galapagos Sea Lions – Mostly Sleeping
Galapagos Sea Lion – Mostly Sleeping
Slightly smaller than their Californian relatives, Galápagos sea lions range from 150 to 250 cm (59 to 98 in) in length and weigh between 50 to 250 kg (110 to 550 lb.), with the males averaging larger than females. Most of the sea lions we encountered during the day seemed to be sleeping.
Galapagos – Swallow-tailed Gull Beauty
Galapagos Birds – Swallow-tailed Gull Beauty
The beauty of the Swallow-tailed Gull captured in flight
Galapagos – Swallow-tailed Gull
Galapagos Birds – Swallow-tailed Gull
The Swallow-tailed Gull breeds mainly on the Galapagos Islands. It forms loose colonies with large inter-nest distances but can be solitary, nesting on steep slopes or broken cliffs, often on broad cliff-top ledges but also just above the wave line, and on gravelly beaches and under vegetation.
In the breeding season, the adult has a black plumaged head and a bright red fleshy rim around each eye.
Galapagos Frigatebirds
Galapagos Birds – Magnificent Frigatebird Resting its Beak
Galapagos Birds – Magnificent Frigatebirds in Contrast
The Magnificent Frigatebird is 100 cm (39 in.) long with a 215 cm (85 in) wingspan. Males are all-black with a scarlet throat pouch that is inflated like a balloon in the breeding season. The contrast between the inflated versus deflated pouch above is striking.
Galapagos – Magnificient Frigate Birds
Galapagos Birds – Magnificent Frigatebird
Galapagos Birds – Magnificent Frigatebird Portrait
The frigatebirds are a family of seabirds also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term “frigate pelican” is also a name applied to them. They have long wings, tails, and bills and the males have a red gular pouch that is inflated during the breeding season to attract a mate.
Galapagos – Marine Iguanas
Galapagos Iguanas – Marine Iguanas Cuddling
Galapagos Iguanas – Young Marine Iguana
The Galapagos marine iguana is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile. The iguana can dive over 9 m (30 ft.) into the water. It mainly lives on the rocky Galápagos shore, but can also be spotted in marshes and mangrove beaches.
Galapagos – Sally Lightfoot Crabs
Galapagos Sally Lightfoot Crabs
The Sally Lightfoot Crab is one of the few saltwater crab species that inhabits
the Galapagos Islands and is often found sharing sea-side rocks with marine iguanas.