Kayaking | A Scotsman in Suburbia

Thursday 12th February –Bird Island

We were now eight days in to our expedition/cruise around the Galapagos Islands on the M.S. Santa Cruz II. Today would be our last full day. We had thoroughly enjoyed everything up to now, including the early starts. They were worth it. Every island had been different, different wild life, different scenery, and different adventures. We were determined to make the most of our last day on “Bird Island”

Or Isla Genovesa to give it its proper name.

“Bird Island”

But first a little geology. As can be seen from the above image, Genovesa is a volcanic Island, a shield volcano, to be precise, with a collapsed caldera, which forms Great Darwin Bay. In the middle of the island is a salt water crater lake called Lake Arcturus.

It is not the most northerly island in the archipelago, Pinta, Marchena and the isolated islets Darwin and Wolf, lie further north. However Genovesa was as far north as we went. The island is completely uninhabited (by Homo Sapiens) and quite remote.

Genovesa is known as “Bird Island” because of the large and varied bird population. I will introduce you to them as we go.

Prince Philip’s Steps.

Santa Cruz II anchored in the bay and after breakfast, but still early, we took the Pangas to the island.

We landed at Prince Philip’s Steps. A steep narrow staircase, cut into the volcanic rock. They take you from sea level to cliff top about twenty five metres above. From there a path takes you onto the plateau, filled with nesting birds.

The cynic in me thought they had been built for Prince Philip, when he visited in 1964, to save him getting his feet wet. Apparently they were just named after him, to honour his visit to the island. Prince Philip was already deeply involved in conservation work—he helped establish the World Wildlife Fund in 1961—and his interest in Galápagos wildlife made the visit notable.

As we climbed the steps it became obvious why it was known as “Bird Island”. We were greeted by birds of all descriptions, none of whom seemed to bother that we were there.

The first I encountered was a Nazca Booby chick, sitting in the middle of the path. Mum was alongside keeping an eye on things.

There are three types of Booby in the Galapagos. The Blue Footed, the Nazca and the Red Footed. The Blue Footed Booby is not found on Genovesa, although it is ubiquitous elsewhere in the archipelago. The Nazca Booby is also fairly widespread. The Red Footed Booby is more or less only found on Genovesa. It is also the most numerous of the three.

The Red Footed Boobies are fairly uniquely for a sea bird, in that they nest in trees.

Moving on past the booby chick, we encountered a huge variety of birds. The Frigate Birds were probably the most spectacular.

The males are distinguished by their red pouch under their chins. It is inflated as part of their mating display. They are very elegant and manoeverable in flight. Their method of feeding is harassing other birds into giving up their catch.

There is a colony of Wedge Rumped Storm Petrels, that nests on the cliff top.

Wedge Rumped Storm Petrels with a Short Eared Owl.

There is also a colony of Galapagos Short Eared Owls, which prey on the Storm Petrels.

Just trying to remember the names of all the birds that I saw is a challenge.

Bird Species Seen by me on Genovesa

Below is a reference table of the bird species I encountered on Genovesa, It includes common and scientific names, families, and links for anyone who wants to dive deeper.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Family	Wikipedia Link	Notes
Red-footed Booby	Sula sula	Sulidae	Red-footed Booby	Genovesa; tree-nesting booby
Nazca Booby	Sula granti	Sulidae	Nazca Booby	Genovesa cliffs
Red-billed Tropicbird	Phaethon aethereus	Phaethontidae	Red-billed Tropicbird	Nesting on Genovesa
Galápagos Shearwater	Puffinus subalaris	Procellariidae	Galápagos Shearwater	Endemic; often in feeding flocks
Elliot’s Storm-Petrel	Oceanites gracilis	Oceanitidae	Elliot’s Storm-Petrel	Seen around Genovesa
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel	Hydrobates castro	Hydrobatidae	Band-rumped Storm-Petrel	Pelagic; breeds in Galápagos
Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel	Hydrobates tethys	Hydrobatidae	Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel	Abundant around Genovesa
Great Frigatebird	Fregata minor	Fregatidae	Great Frigatebird	Seen across islands
Swallow-tailed Gull	Creagrus furcatus	Laridae	Swallow-tailed Gull	Endemic; nocturnal gull
Brown Noddy	Anous stolidus	Laridae	Brown Noddy	Common coastal species
American Oystercatcher	Haematopus palliatus	Haematopodidae	American Oystercatcher	Seen on beaches and rocky shores
Yellow-crowned Night Heron	Nyctanassa violacea	Ardeidae	Yellow-crowned Night Heron	Rábida; hunts crabs
Striated Heron	Butorides striata	Ardeidae	Striated Heron	Small shoreline heron
Great Blue Heron	Ardea herodias	Ardeidae	Great Blue Heron	Large solitary wader
Galápagos Mockingbird	Mimus parvulus	Mimidae	Galápagos Mockingbird	Endemic; very curious
Galápagos Yellow Warbler	Setophaga petechia aureola	Parulidae	Yellow Warbler	Endemic subspecies
Short-eared Owl	Asio flammeus	Strigidae	Short-eared Owl	Genovesa; hunts storm-petrels
Darwin’s Finches	Geospiza, Camarhynchus, Certhidea, etc.	Thraupidae	Darwin’s Finches	Endemic radiation; varies by island

The Red -billed (in fact all Tropic Birds) are known to seamen as Bosun Birds. This is because their tail feathers stick out like a Bosun’s (Boatswain’s ) marlin spike from his belt.

Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus)

Distinguishing between the various Storm-Petrels was quite difficult. I relied on the Cornell Bird Identification app Merlin to help me.

The variations between the finches on the different islands is one of the cornerstones of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, I really should have done better at identifying them, but I failed miserably.

The sheer volume of birds was almost overwhelming. The fact that you could walk more or less right up to them, made it even more so.

That was our morning expedition. It was one of the highlights of the trip.

After Lunch

After we went kayaking around the cliffs of Darwin Bay. This was actually where I saw the Tropic Bird. I didn’t manage to get a photo. The photo above is a stock photo I found. They are beautiful birds, and I thought you deserved to see what they look like.

Kayaking was fun, but we decided against paddle boarding.

We didn’t sink, we didn’t capsize and we didn’t scare the Sealions, so I think it was success

Just before sunset we landed on the beach at the opposite end of Darwin Bay to The Prince Philip Steps. We had a gentle stroll along the beach, encountering, Sealions, a nesting colony of Red-footed Boobies, Swallow tailed Gulls, juvenile Frigate Birds, various herons and a Galapagos Yellow Warbler.