![\"One](\"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/mainebirds\/files\/2010\/05\/LosHemelos.JPG\")
<\/a>Our first stop enroute was Los Gemelos (The Twins), two huge volcanic depressions in the highlands of Santa Cruz.\u00a0 Admiring one of these two sinkholes, I noticed a bird out of the corner of my eye.\u00a0 It was a Warbler Finch, one of the 13 species collectively referred to as Darwin\u2019s finches.\u00a0 Within a few minutes, we had seen four others: Woodpecker Finch, Large Ground-Finch, Small Ground-Finch and Medium Ground-Finch.\u00a0 I was thrilled!<\/p>\n
With few natural predators, the animals of the Gal\u00e1pagos are well known for their fearlessness.\u00a0 As our group stood around one of Los Gemelos, a Gal\u00e1pagos Dove perched only feet away from us.\u00a0 This species is widespread in the archipelago but is declining.\u00a0 Our tour guide told us we were lucky to see this species.\u00a0 It is really a striking bird.<\/p>\n
The dominant trees belong to the genus Scalesia and are members of the sunflower family.\u00a0 Without seeing the flowers, I would never have suspected the Scalesia are related to our daisies.<\/p>\n
Our next stop was Rancho Primacia.\u00a0 A walk through this reserve yielded our first Gal\u00e1pagos tortoises as well as White-<\/p>\n cheeked Pintails, Gal\u00e1pagos Mockingbird, Yellow Warblers (the males have red feathers on their head) and a Common Moorhen.<\/p>\n The following day, we boarded a boat for a trip to Floreana, a two-hour cruise from Puerto Ayora.\u00a0 We saw Nazca Boobies, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Audubon\u2019s Shearwaters and<\/p>\n Elliot\u2019s Storm-Petrel during the crossing.\u00a0 Arriving at Floreana, we saw Gal\u00e1pagos sea lions and marine iguanas on the rocks near the dock.<\/p>\n We boarded a bus for transport to the highlands of the island.\u00a0 I was particularly keen to see the Medium Tree-Finch, endemic to this island, but was skunked.\u00a0 We did see lots of tortoises, Gal\u00e1pagos Flycatchers and a brief glimpse of a Gal\u00e1pagos Hawk.<\/p>\n We cruised to Devil\u2019s Crown, a rocky outcrop just offshore.\u00a0\u00a0 Two Gal\u00e1pagos Penguins were perched on the shore with a Swallow-tailed Gull close by.\u00a0 A Great Blue Heron was roosting there as well.<\/p>\n On Devil\u2019s Crown, many Blue-footed Boobies and Nazca Boobies were roosting.\u00a0 A couple of spectacular Red-billed Tropicbirds circled the boat.<\/p>\n The next day we sailed north for three hours to the small island of Bartholom\u00e9, adjacent to the large island of Santiago. Bartholom\u00e9 is a young island, a little less than a million years old.\u00a0 The soil is very poor; plants are sparse and well adapted to the arid environment here.\u00a0 Geologically, Bartholom\u00e9 is fascinating with lava tubes and magma formations.\u00a0 Ornithologically, the island has little to offer so no new species were added to our list.\u00a0 The snorkeling just offshore was spectacular with many fish species and sea turtles seen.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>