Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Galapagos Day 5
We had a sunset cruise around the Daphne Islets (Major & Minor). Daphne Major is famous for the work done by Peter and Rosemary Grant on finch evolution. (Read The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner for all the details.) Islands like Daphne Major are great ecological "laboratories" because they have a relatively simple ecology. For example, the Grants could record data and follow every finch on the island, and could identify and count all seeds in their sample plots.
But first, a short diversion for frigatebirds.
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| A large number of frigatebirds followed the ship as we sailed away from Santa Cruz. |
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| Finally, a view of a frigatebird showing the red throat pouch. |
Returning now to the main topic:
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| A view of Daphne Major (right) and Daphne Minor (left) from earlier in the day from near Cerro Dragon. |
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| The islands at sunset. |
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| Eventually, Daphne Minor caught the late day sun glow. |
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| Daphne Major at sunset. Visitation to the island is highly limited. The landing zone is very tricky, and the island has no fresh water. |
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| Looking back at Santa Cruz. |
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| Sunset |
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| As we cruised past Daphne Major in twilight, it really changed shape. This view just barely shows the landing site (at far left), and the trail that leads up to the interior crater. |
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| Our last view of Daphne Major with Daphne Minor in the background. |
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