The photos are running lower, now, so please send me your good photos. (Please cull them: nothing out of focus or with animals off in the distance!)
Today we have some Galápagos photos sent by reader Gregory Zolnerowich;
Attached are some photos I took last August while on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos. I’m not sure which finch that is, but it certainly wasn’t shy. [JAC: ID?]
I believe there are 2 species of frigate birds on that island, I’m not sure which one these are. [JAC: the species are the Great Frigatebird and the Magnificent Frigatebird; does anybody know which this is?]
Lava gulls (Leucophaeus fuliginosus)are endangered but certainly not shy, they would get quite close to people. [JAC: This species is endemic to the archipelago and is considered the rarest gull in the world.]
There are several species of lizard collectively called “lava lizards“. [JAC: if this was on San Cristobal, it was probably Microlophus bivittatus.]
People share the beaches with sea lions.
Randy Schenck, a pair of mated swans [Cygnus sp.] from Iowa:
And more swans, eking out a precarious living in Oz, sent by reader Marella. These are black swans, Cygnus atratrus:
Here is a picture taken by my husband a couple of days ago on the edge of the Yarra river which runs through the city of Melbourne, Australia. The nest is within a short walk of the main CBD [Central Business District], so this swan is pretty brave. The orange bollard is due to some government agency, probably the city council, putting up a protective barrier to stop people interfering with the nest. I hope the foxes don’t get the cygnets, but so far so good.
I dream of Galapagos. *Sigh*. But I will live vicariously through others in that regard.
I would think that swans would nest in a more sheltered area, like in tall reeds.
Amazing black swan with 5 little ones. Hate to see just like everywhere in our world, the trash collecting.
Trying to always look on the bright side, this means that this special species seems pretty tolerant of humans and so will stick around through the current mass extinction.
Identification of Magnificent and Great Frigatebirds is notoriously tricky but I (cautiously) think these may be Magnificent Frigatebirds. The white headed individuals are juveniles and on Galapagos the Great Frigatebird juveniles are normally tawny-headed. The black-headed individuals are, I think, mature females and on the Magnificent Frigatebird the female should have a black chin and throat whereas in the Great Frigatebird the throat and chin of mature females is white. The lowest bird in the tree appears to have a black throat, therefore suggesting Magnificent. Having said all of that, I am not familiar with these species in the wild (not common here in northern England!) and am working it out from my books so I am ready to stand corrected if I have got it wrong!
Incidentally, there was a recent genetic study of the Magnificent Frigatebird which demonstrated that there has been very little gene flow between the galapagos population and other populations of the species but significant flow amongst those other populations (including across the Isthmus of Panama). Genetic isolation of species on Galapagos is a concept we are all very familiar with but it is surprising to find it also applies to such a mobile and strong flying sea-bird.
[Long-term isolation of a highly mobile seabird on the Galapagos
Frank Hailer, E. A. Schreiber, Joshua M. Miller, Iris I. Levin, Patricia G. Parker, R. Terry Chesser, Robert C. Fleischer
Proc. R. Soc. B 2010 -; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1342. Published 22 September 2010].
Another interesting Frigatebird titbit is the fact that the Great Frigatebird’s vernacular name contradicts its scientific name Fragata minor! (The scientific name recognizes that the species is smaller than the Magnificent FB).
Interesting about the restriction in gene flow between populations. But the restriction would be enforced by selection of seasonal nesting sites, not mobility, and it seems that selection of nesting sites is strongly influenced by individual family experience. Nest where you grew up.
Agree up to a point but the extent of gene flow between other populations, including between Atlantic and Pacific populations suggests that nesting away from natal sites must be quite common.
I should also correct the scientific name given in my previous comment Fregata minor not Fragata minor!
The swans are Trumpeter swans, Cygnus buccinator. The profile of the bill and its overall blackish colour with a hint of red at the base of the lower mandible indicates this species.
Great pictures. I dream of seeing the Lava Gull someday. Estimates place the total population at around only 300 breeding pairs.
Love the black swan shot too, great urban wildlife example (with a cheeky looking Silver Gull photobombing).
The finch probably feels pretty safe within the heart of spiny cactus paddles. Those lava gulls are certainly a cool sight. The water they are swimming on has that neat bluish-green color you see from glacier runoff or glacier ‘milk’. I’m positive that’s not what is giving this water that color though.
I saw my first black swan in person at a hotel’s pond on Maui. They are beautiful and impressive birds. I imagine black swans also mate for life, but I’m not sure.