More often than not, we have fewer "bird watchers" or bird enthusiasts arriving in Galapagos than we have leaving. This is due to the transformation that occurs during their week here.
On the mainland, the birds do keep their distance. This makes it possible for everyday folk to catch only glimpses of these "little brown jobs" or "LBJ's" as they fly past or perch in a tree, and little else. Due to the fearlessness of the birds in Galapagos, however, it is not unusual to have a finch or a flycatcher land on one's hat or head. This enables us to see what beautiful and delicate creatures these little birds really are.
In the natural Scalesia forest of Santa Cruz, we are often fortunate to observe the private lives of many of the small land birds. As we walked under the sparse canopy this afternoon though, the little birds weren't showing off too much. We suddenly reached an area where a warbler finch and a small tree finch were feeding in their own unique ways, only 3-4 feet from our heads. They allowed us to see exactly what they were eating/doing and how. The female small tree finch in the picture was peeling off the bark from twigs in the vicinity. She was so precise in her work. At first, we thought she was using these peelings to build her home, as the finches are currently nesting in this region. As she wasn't carrying the "nest material" away, we assumed that the bird was feeding from behind the bark. She gave us all quite a memorable show before we were called away to the more familiar highlight. A few yards on, someone had spotted a male vermilion flycatcher. It sat just feet away and darted around within inches of our heads. It is with close encounters like these that a visit really becomes unforgettable.
With all the options available on our afternoon in the highlands of Santa Cruz, passengers were able to customise their visit to include the pit craters and/or the tortoise farm. This concluded a magnificent day of a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station and shopping in the morning followed by our usual lunchtime stop at the Altair restaurant in the highlands. In the Altair's swimming pool, many of us took advantage of the well-earned opportunity to cool off on this typical hot season day.
