Española Island
Today we visited Española Island which captivated the lenses of most of the cameras. We walked among big marine iguanas colonies, little sea lions resting close to their mothers, friendly mocking birds and a Galapagos hawk feeding on a sea lion placenta. The Galapagos hawk is the main raptor that we have on the islands; but, instead of behaving like most of the raptors do, hunting alive preys, they prefer to save energy and go after something easier like the sea lions placenta, that in this time of the year are very abundant.
One of the most interesting characteristic of the raptors is the raptorial foot which is characterized by long, strong digits armed with heavy claws for catching, holding and killing prey animals. The feet are usually the bird’s most immediate physical contact with the environment, and apart from the bill, the feet are often the most obvious physical manifestation of how species live in this world. Therefore birds are called digitigrade because they actually walk on their toes and not on all of their foot bones (as humans do). The bones and flesh of the foot are covered whith a tough plating of scales that further strengthens the foot and resists the wear and tear of walking and perching.
Española Island is a gold mine of bird species and a super contribution to the experience of this fantastic trip.
Today we visited Española Island which captivated the lenses of most of the cameras. We walked among big marine iguanas colonies, little sea lions resting close to their mothers, friendly mocking birds and a Galapagos hawk feeding on a sea lion placenta. The Galapagos hawk is the main raptor that we have on the islands; but, instead of behaving like most of the raptors do, hunting alive preys, they prefer to save energy and go after something easier like the sea lions placenta, that in this time of the year are very abundant.
One of the most interesting characteristic of the raptors is the raptorial foot which is characterized by long, strong digits armed with heavy claws for catching, holding and killing prey animals. The feet are usually the bird’s most immediate physical contact with the environment, and apart from the bill, the feet are often the most obvious physical manifestation of how species live in this world. Therefore birds are called digitigrade because they actually walk on their toes and not on all of their foot bones (as humans do). The bones and flesh of the foot are covered whith a tough plating of scales that further strengthens the foot and resists the wear and tear of walking and perching.
Española Island is a gold mine of bird species and a super contribution to the experience of this fantastic trip.
