DOCSLIB.ORG

Ecuador Galápagos Archipelago 26Th April to 5Th May 2018 (10 Days) Trip Report

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ecuador Galápagos Archipelago 26Th April to 5Th May 2018 (10 Days) Trip Report Ecuador Galápagos Archipelago 26th April to 5th May 2018 (10 days) Trip Report Waved Albatross by Dušan Brinkhuizen Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Dušan Brinkhuizen Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ecuador Trip Report – RBL Ecuador - Galápagos Archipelago 2018 2 Tour Summary Rockjumper’s amazing Galápagos adventure started at the airport of San Cristobál – the easternmost island of the archipelago. Our first bird of the trip was a stunning Mangrove Warbler hopping in the arrivals hall! Mangrove Warbler is a split from American Yellow Warbler and the distinct race aureola is only found in the Galápagos and Cocos Island. Some people saw the first Darwin’s finches from the bus during a short drive to our hotel in town. After a delicious lunch in a restaurant (lots of fresh fish available on the islands!), we started our afternoon excursion to the highlands of San Cristobál. The walk up to El Junco lagoon was scenic. We got close encounters with Grey Warbler-Finch of the San Cristobál race and also identified our first Small and Medium Ground Finches. We got to the lake just before a thick ocean mist came in. The crater lake was formed by the collapsed caldera of a volcano and is the only freshwater site on the island. It’s a great place to watch Magnificent Frigatebirds come to drink in an almost surreal setting. It was Steve that picked out a female Great Frigatebird – a scarcer species here – that we identified by the red eye-ring. White- Grey Warbler-Finch by Dušan cheeked Pintails with ducklings were present on the lake, as Brinkhuizen well as a few Common Gallinules. On our way down to the tortoise breeding centre, we stopped for our first San Cristobál Mockingbird perched on a wire. This endangered island endemic was our principal target for the afternoon. Shortly after, we watched more mockingbirds at the car park of La Galapaguera breeding centre. A Paint-billed Crake was briefly observed by a few people at a small pond along the trail. Luckily, it was Tyler that rediscovered the bird nearby and everybody was able to see this secretive species as it walked through the dense bushes. Dark-billed Cuckoo was another great bird that we got to see here. We then searched for Vegetarian Finch, but without success, as it was getting late. Back in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno we had a nice dinner. We also picked up our snorkelling gear and swimsuits for the next day! Today we visited the fantastic Española Island. Departing the harbour of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, we got our first Lava Gull and Lava Heron, both sought-after endemics. Two cracking Galápagos Petrels flew by our boat at close range shortly after departure! This Critically Endangered endemic is pelagic during the day but we still saw fair numbers of them. A Band-rumped Storm Petrel, another pelagic species, flew along with the boat and showed really well. Galápagos Shearwaters were a common sight at sea and we also got our first adult Waved Albatross on the Galápagos Petrel by Dušan Brinkhuizen way! At Gardner Island we did our first snorkelling Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ecuador Trip Report – RBL Ecuador - Galápagos Archipelago 2018 3 excursion, which was fantastic. The highlight must have been the Galápagos Sea Lions that we played with up-close, but the great number of colourful fish was also amazing! A Lava Heron was also very approachable while snorkelling. Once we landed on Española, our endemic targets were observed fairly quickly. The Española Mockingbird greeted us at the beach and they were especially interested in Kani’s water bottle. A small family group of Galápagos Dove also showed well at close range. Actually, on Galápagos, almost all the wildlife is observed at close range: binoculars are often not needed! We had already seen Galápagos Hawk at Gardner, but another bird was perched at Punta Suarez. Española Cactus Finch was the final endemic that we needed here, and several were seen along the rocky trail to the albatross colony. The nesting birds at Punta Suarez were amazing, with Blue- footed and Nazca Boobies, Swallow-tailed Gull and Red-billed Tropicbirds all around us! However, the star bird must have been the Waved Albatross. This Critically Endangered near-endemic nests on Española in large numbers and the island holds about 99.9% of the entire world population (a few pairs nest on Isla de la Plata off mainland Ecuador). We got to see many adults at their nests, some displaying but also several of these majestic albatrosses in flight – a lifetime birding experience, without a doubt! The following day we visited Punta Pitt, a remote site on the far eastern tip of San Crisóbal. We did not see many Waved Albatrosses by Jorn Zeiler seabirds like the day before, but at Kicker Rock we ran into a spectacular pod of Common Bottlenose Dolphins. At a scenic cliff locally named “the cathedral”, we watched a nice flock of Brown Noddies. A small rock at Punta Pitt was literally crowded with seabirds, including nesting Wedge-rumped Storm Petrels and Swallow-tailed Gulls. This is where we went into the water again, and the snorkelling was spectacular, possibly even better than the day before, with all the seabirds above our heads! Again, we played with Galápagos Sea Lions and the reef fish were just mind-blowing. After lunch on the boat, we did the scenic trail up to Punta Pitt. This is a key nesting site for Red-footed Boobies and we saw both white and brown morphs at their nests. Actually, all three booby species were available here for close viewing. The Blue-footed Boobies were actually blocking the trail with their nests! San Cristobál Mockingbirds were present in the scrub near the beach. On our way back an adult summer Franklin’s Gull flew along with our boat for a minute. After a nice dinner in town we visited the Galápagos Sea Lion harem, which was a very noisy, smelly and surreal scene! Semipalmated Plover and Yellow-crowned Night Heron were new birds added to the list after dusk. Red-footed Booby by Dušan Brinkhuizen Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ecuador Trip Report – RBL Ecuador - Galápagos Archipelago 2018 4 The following morning, we boarded a speedboat that brought us to Floreana Island. Pelagic birding was a little tough because of the speed, but we did stop for a few Waved Albatrosses and another pod of Common Bottlenose Dolphins. Our principal target for the morning was the exceedingly rare and localised Floreana "Charles" Mockingbird. Two tiny populations survive on the small satellite rocks of Champion and Gardner-by-Floreana. The species became extinct on mainland Floreana soon after Darwin collected it, mainly because of the introduction of rats and cats. We circumnavigated Champion Islet and it was Steve that spotted the first Floreana Mockingbird atop a cactus: two more adults popped up, all colour-banded, and everybody got excellent views of this rare endemic! We continued to the mainland, where we got a pleasant “chiva” truck drive up into the highlands. At the site called Asilo de la Paz, we quickly located the endemic Medium Tree Finch. Phenotypically the pair looked perfect for Medium, but recent hybridisation with Small Tree Finch has complicated the situation on the island in terms of identification. We also photographed a colour-banded individual, and researchers would probably be able to tell us the genetic composition of this particular bird. During our walk, we saw various Small and Medium Tree Finches, but also Galápagos Flycatchers. Christopher enjoyed a shaded seat below a tree and got a Dark-billed Cuckoo right above his head! Back in the small town of Floreana, we had a nice local lunch and Common Floreana Mockingbird by Dušan Cactus Finches showed well along the main street. In the Brinkhuizen afternoon, we continued to Isabela Island. Pelagic birding was good but also challenging, with a White- faced Storm Petrel swiftly seen by the tour leaders only. When we turned the boat we saw various Elliot’s Storm Petrels, Brown Noddies and Galápagos Shearwaters, but the rare White-faced was nowhere to be found. Further offshore, we stopped for a whale blow. We got incredible close-up looks of a huge whale that we later identified as Bryde's Whale on the basis of photos of the dorsal fin – a spectacular sight! In the late afternoon we reached Tortuga Island, where we got to see Swallow-tailed Gulls, lots of boobies and a nice Wandering Tattler. In the harbour of Puerto Villamil, we got a few Lava Gulls before it got dark. In the early morning, we drove up into the highlands of southern Isabela to the Sierra Negra Volcano. Our principal target for the morning, Galápagos Crake, was heard soon after arrival. With careful help of a remote playback setup, we eventually lured the bird out in a small window that provided us with Galápagos Crake by Dušan Brinkhuizen excellent views of this elusive endemic! At another nearby spot, we suddenly watched an adult walk out in the open and some even got to see a chick! At the same site, we got to see our first Woodpecker Finch. This distinct finch proved to be Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ecuador Trip Report – RBL Ecuador - Galápagos Archipelago 2018 5 fairly common along the trail up to the volcano crater. Green Warbler-Finch was another new addition to the growing list of seen endemics. The walk up to the crater was beautiful and we saw a lot of birds, including nesting Small Tree Finch and a curious pair of Galápagos Mockingbirds.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 160-165 OB Vol 25 #3 Dec2007.Pdf
    160 BOOK REVIEWS Gulls of the with sections on taxonomy, field identi - Americas . 2007. fication, individual variation, geographi - Steve N .G. Howell and cal var ia tion, hybridization, topography, Jon Dunn . Houghton molts and plumages, age terminology, Mifflin. Boston and New York. Hardcover, molt strategies and behaviour. The final 17 x 2 6 cm, 1,160 200 plus pages are Species Accounts in colour photographs, ascending order of body size. There is a 516 pages. $45.95 section on Hybrid Gulls that discusses CAN. ISBN 13:978-0- 618-72641-7. regular hybrids occurring on both coasts, almost exclusively involving large gulls. Gulls of the Americas (hereafter H & D) is The book concludes with a Glossary, the latest in the Houghton Mifflin extensive Bibliography and a section on nature guide series. It is more precisely Geographic Terms. Medium-sized pho - termed one of the Peterson Reference tographs begin species account group - Guides. Indeed, the book’s large size and ings. A range map is found on the first weight preclude it as a field guide. Steve page of each Species Account. Included Howell and Jon Dunn have produced an are an identification summary, discus - exhaustive reference work for the 36 sions on taxonomy, status and distribu - species of gulls recorded in the Americas. tion, field identification vis-à-vis similar This includes 22 species that have bred species, detailed descriptions and molt. in North America, 10 that breed in Hybrids involving other species are listed South America, and 4 that strayed from and references for further information Europe and Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • Observations on the Breeding and Distribution of Lava Gull Leucophaeus Fuliginosus K
    Cotinga 37 Observations on the breeding and distribution of Lava Gull Leucophaeus fuliginosus K. Thalia Grant, Olivia H. Estes and Gregory B. Estes Received 7 January 2014; final revision accepted 3 December 2014 Cotinga 37 (2015): OL 22–37 published online 10 March 2015 La Gaviota de Lava Leucophaeus fuliginosus, endémica del archipiélago de Galápagos, es la gaviota más rara del mundo, cuyos hábitos de reproducción son poco conocidos. En los años 2011 y 2012 se observó anidación en la isla Genovesa en densidades mayores a las reportadas previamente en Galápagos. Las parejas reproductoras fueron muy territoriales, defendiendo áreas de hasta 70 m de diámetro contra coespecíficos. Las hembras fueron más agresivas que los machos frente a los intrusos de otras especias percibidos como una amenaza. La nidada de 1–2 huevos fue incubada por ambos miembros de la pareja en turnos de dos horas. Los polluelos salieron del nido 4–5 días después de la eclosión, seleccionando lugares en el territorio más protegidos a los cuales retornaron regularmente para descansar. Los adultos reproductores fueron depredadores oportunistas, alimentando a sus crías principalmente con huevos y polluelos de aves marinas y peces robados de las mismas aves. Reconocemos una relación parasítica entre la cleptoparásita Fragata Real Fregata magnificens y la Gaviota de Lava, y sospechamos que este es el medio principal por el cual en esta isla las gaviotas adquieren los peces que comen. Presentamos datos sobre las comunicaciones entre los padres y la cría, proporcionamos la primera serie de fotografías del desarrollo del polluelo de Gaviota de Lava y describimos una característica en el plumaje de los adultos que no ha sido descrita previamente.
    [Show full text]
  • Laridaerefspart1 V1.2.Pdf
    Introduction This is the first of two Gull Reference lists. It includes all those species of Gull that are not included in the genus Larus. I have endeavoured to keep typos, errors, omissions etc in this list to a minimum, however when you find more I would be grateful if you could mail the details during 2014 & 2015 to: [email protected]. Grateful thanks to Wietze Janse (http://picasaweb.google.nl/wietze.janse) and Dick Coombes for the cover images. All images © the photographers. Joe Hobbs Index The general order of species follows the International Ornithologists' Union World Bird List (Gill, F. & Donsker, D. (eds.) 2014. IOC World Bird List. Available from: http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ [version 4.2 accessed April 2014]). Cover Main image: Mediterranean Gull. Hellegatsplaten, South Holland, Netherlands. 30th April 2010. Picture by Wietze Janse. Vignette: Ivory Gull. Baltimore Harbour, Co. Cork, Ireland. 4th March 2009. Picture by Richard H. Coombes. Version Version 1.2 (August 2014). Species Page No. Andean Gull [Chroicocephalus serranus] 19 Audouin's Gull [Ichthyaetus audouinii] 37 Black-billed Gull [Chroicocephalus bulleri] 19 Black-headed Gull [Chroicocephalus ridibundus] 21 Black-legged Kittiwake [Rissa tridactyla] 6 Bonaparte's Gull [Chroicocephalus philadelphia] 16 Brown-headed Gull [Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus] 20 Brown-hooded Gull [Chroicocephalus maculipennis] 20 Dolphin Gull [Leucophaeus scoresbii] 31 Franklin's Gull [Leucophaeus pipixcan] 34 Great Black-headed Gull [Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus] 41 Grey Gull [Leucophaeus
    [Show full text]
  • Species List – November 10 -17, 2019 with Mainland Ecuador Puembo/Antisana National Park Pre-Extension November 9, 2019
    Journey to the Galapagos Species List – November 10 -17, 2019 With mainland Ecuador Puembo/Antisana National Park pre-extension November 9, 2019 Guide Dan Donaldson, with local guides Antonio and Gustavo (in Galapagos), and 19 participants: Becky, Tom and Nancy, Julianne, Cynthia, John and Kathy L, Kathy P, Ed and Sil, Jenise, Ram and Sudha, Jim and Brenda, Kitty, Jean, Carol, and Deb. GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (HO)= Distinctive enough to be counted as heard only (E)= Galapagos Endemic (I)=introduced BIRDS (45 species recorded, of which 0 were heard only): DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS: Anatidae (1) White-cheeked Pintail Anas bahamensis— Several seen on Punta Cormorant Pond on Floreana with American Flamingos and again on Santa Cruz at El Chato Ranch (Giant Tortoise Ranch) FLAMINGOS: Phoenicopteridae (1) American Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber— 37, Small groups, viewed from across the pond, making up 37 or more individuals seen at Punta Cormorant. Early breeding displays by several individuals consisting of coordinated marching and wing extensions were observed. PIGEONS AND DOVES: Columbidae (1) Galapagos Dove Zenaida galapagoensis (E)— 8, Observed on several days including on the beach at Punta Pitt and again on the hike at Punta Suarez. CUCKOOS: Cuculidae (1) Smooth-billed Ani Crotophaga ani (I)— 13, First seen on the drive into El Chato Ranch to view the giant tortoises, this species was introduced to the Galapagos to preen ticks from cattle. Their effectiveness at this task is questionable. STILTS AND AVOCETS: Recurvirostridae (1) Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus— 1, This individual was spotted feeding in a small mangrove cove on Punta Cormorant Pond.
    [Show full text]
  • Threats to Seabirds: a Global Assessment 2 3 4 Authors: Maria P
    1 Threats to seabirds: a global assessment 2 3 4 Authors: Maria P. Dias1*, Rob Martin1, Elizabeth J. Pearmain1, Ian J. Burfield1, Cleo Small2, Richard A. 5 Phillips3, Oliver Yates4, Ben Lascelles1, Pablo Garcia Borboroglu5, John P. Croxall1 6 7 8 Affiliations: 9 1 - BirdLife International. The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK 10 2 - BirdLife International Marine Programme, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, SG19 2DL 11 3 – British Antarctic Survey. Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, 12 Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK 13 4 – Centre for the Environment, Fishery and Aquaculture Science, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, NR33, UK 14 5 - Global Penguin Society, University of Washington and CONICET Argentina. Puerto Madryn U9120, 15 Chubut, Argentina 16 * Corresponding author: Maria Dias, [email protected]. BirdLife International. The David 17 Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK. Phone: +44 (0)1223 747540 18 19 20 Acknowledgements 21 We are very grateful to Bartek Arendarczyk, Sophie Bennett, Ricky Hibble, Eleanor Miller and Amy 22 Palmer-Newton for assisting with the bibliographic review. We thank Rachael Alderman, Pep Arcos, 23 Jonathon Barrington, Igor Debski, Peter Hodum, Gustavo Jimenez, Jeff Mangel, Ken Morgan, Paul Sagar, 24 Peter Ryan, and other members of the ACAP PaCSWG, and the members of IUCN SSC Penguin Specialist 25 Group (Alejandro Simeone, Andre Chiaradia, Barbara Wienecke, Charles-André Bost, Lauren Waller, Phil 26 Trathan, Philip Seddon, Susie Ellis, Tom Schneider and Dee Boersma) for reviewing threats to selected 27 species. We thank also Andy Symes, Rocio Moreno, Stuart Butchart, Paul Donald, Rory Crawford, 28 Tammy Davies, Ana Carneiro and Tris Allinson for fruitful discussions and helpful comments on earlier 29 versions of the manuscript.
    [Show full text]
  • List of Gulls Part 1 with References
    Introduction This is the final version of the Gulls (Part 1) list, no further updates will be made. It includes all those species of Gull that are not included in the genus Larus. Grateful thanks to Wietze Janse and Dick Coombes for the cover images and all those who responded with constructive feedback. All images © the photographers. Please note that this and other Reference Lists I have compiled are not exhaustive and are best employed in conjunction with other sources. Joe Hobbs Index The general order of species follows the International Ornithologists' Union World Bird List (Gill, F. & Donsker, D. (eds.) 2019. IOC World Bird List. Available from: https://www.worldbirdnames.org/ [version 9.1 accessed January 2019]). Final Version Version 1.4 (January 2019). Cover Main image: Mediterranean Gull. Hellegatsplaten, South Holland, Netherlands. 30th April 2010. Picture by Wietze Janse. Vignette: Ivory Gull. Baltimore Harbour, Co. Cork, Ireland. 4th March 2009. Picture by Richard H. Coombes. Species Page No. Andean Gull [Chroicocephalus serranus] 20 Audouin's Gull [Ichthyaetus audouinii] 38 Black-billed Gull [Chroicocephalus bulleri] 19 Black-headed Gull [Chroicocephalus ridibundus] 21 Black-legged Kittiwake [Rissa tridactyla] 6 Bonaparte's Gull [Chroicocephalus philadelphia] 16 Brown-headed Gull [Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus] 20 Brown-hooded Gull [Chroicocephalus maculipennis] 20 Dolphin Gull [Leucophaeus scoresbii] 32 Franklin's Gull [Leucophaeus pipixcan] 35 Great Black-headed Gull [Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus] 43 Grey Gull [Leucophaeus
    [Show full text]
  • Preventing Extinctions: Planning and Undertaking Invasive Rodent Eradication from Pinzon Island, Galapagos
    D. Rueda, V. Carrion, P.A. Castaño, F. Cunninghame, P. Fisher, E. Hagen, J.B. Ponder, C.A. Riekena, C. Sevilla, H. Shield, D. Will and K.J. Campbell Rueda, D.; V. Carrion, P.A. Castaño, F. Cunninghame, P. Fisher, E. Hagen, J.B. Ponder, C.A. Riekena, C. Sevilla, H. Shield, D. Will and K.J. Campbell. Preventing extinctions: planning and undertaking invasive rodent eradication from Pinzon Island, Galapagos Preventing extinctions: planning and undertaking invasive rodent eradication from Pinzon Island, Galapagos D. Rueda1, V. Carrion2, P.A. Castaño2, F. Cunninghame3, P. Fisher4, E. Hagen5, J.B. Ponder6, C.A. Riekena7, C. Sevilla1, H. Shield8, D. Will5 and K.J. Campbell2,9 1Galapagos National Park Directorate, Charles Darwin Ave., Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. 2Island Conservation, Charles Darwin Ave., Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. <[email protected]>. 3Charles Darwin Foundation, Charles Darwin Ave., Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. 4Landcare Research, P.O. Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand. 5Island Conservation, 2100 Delaware Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA. 6The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota, 1920 Fitch Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA. 7Bell Laboratories, Inc., 3699 Kinsman Blvd., Madison, WI 53704, USA. 8P.O. Box 5184, Springlands 7201, Blenheim, Marlborough, New Zealand. 9School of Geography, Planning & Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4072, Australia. Abstract Invasive black rats (Rattus rattus) were successfully eradicated during 2012 from Pinzon Island in the Galapagos archipelago using the rodenticide brodifacoum. Potential exposure to brodifacoum in Pinzon tortoises (Chelonoidis ephippium), Pinzon lava lizards (Microlophus duncanensis) and Galapagos hawks (Buteo galapagoensis) was mitigated by captive holding of subpopulations.
    [Show full text]
  • News and Notes — W Eb E Xtra
    NEWS AND NOTES — W EB E XTRA The following genera were proposed in 2005 by J.-M. Pons, A. Hassanin, and P.-A. Crochet in a taxonomic revision of the gull family: “Phylogenetic relationships within the Laridae (Charadriiformes: Aves ) inferred from mitochondrial markers” (Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37:686–699). Larus (“white-headed” group) Gray-hooded Gull C. cirrocephalus Heermann’s Gull L. heermanni Hartlaub’s Gull C. hartlaubii Mew Gull L. canus Ring-billed Gull L. delawarensis Ichthyaetus (“black-headed” group) California Gull L. californicus Relict Gull I. relictus Herring Gull L. argentatus Audouin’s Gull I. audouinii American Herring Gull L. smithsonianus Mediterranean Gull I. melanocephalus Yellow-legged Gull L. michahellis Great Black-headed Gull I. ichthyaetus Caspian Gull L. cachinnans Sooty Gull I. hemprichii Armenian Gull L. armenicus White-eyed Gull I. leucophthalmus Thayer’s Gull L. thayeri Iceland Gull L. glaucoides Leucophaeus (“hooded” group) Lesser Black-backed Gull L. fuscus Laughing Gull L. atricilla Slaty-backed Gull L. schistisagus Franklin’s Gull L. pipixcan Yellow-footed Gull L. livens Lava Gull L. fuliginosus Western Gull L. occidentalis Gray Gull L. modestus Glaucous-winged Gull L. glaucescens Dolphin Gull L. scoresbii Glaucous Gull L. hyperboreus Great Black-backed Gull L. marinus Hydrocoloeus Kelp Gull L. dominicanus Little Gull H. minutus Ross’s Gull H. roseus Larus (“band-tailed” group) Pacific Gull L. pacificus Saundersilarus Olrog’s Gull L. atlanticus Saunders’s Gull S. saundersi Belcher’s Gull L. belcheri Black-tailed Gull L. crassirostris Xema Sabine’s Gull X. sabini Chroicocephalus (“masked” group) Slender-billed Gull C.
    [Show full text]
  • The Link Between Seabird Traits and Anthropogenic Threats with Implications for Conservation
    The link between seabird traits and anthropogenic threats with implications for conservation by © Cerridwen Richards Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Ocean Sciences Faculty of Science Memorial University of Newfoundland October 2020 St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador ii Thesis Abstract Seabirds are heavily threatened by anthropogenic activities and their conservation status is deteriorating rapidly. Key goals for successful management and conservation are to identify vulnerable species, and to evaluate conservation gains. Here, I couple a comprehensive dataset of traits with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List extinction risk categories, and threat data for all 341 seabird species. I reveal seabirds segregate in trait space based on threat status, and anthropogenic impacts are selectively removing large, long-lived, pelagic surface feeders with small habitat breadths (Chapter 2). Furthermore, I quantify species’ vulnerability to longline, trawl and purse seine bycatch, and find bycatch mitigation could successfully conserve species’ traits at a global scale (Chapter 3). My results suggest targeted conservation strategies must be implemented to ensure a functionally similar suite of seabirds will not be lost in the near future. iii Co-authorship Statement I have made the primary intellectual and practical contribution to all work that is reported in this thesis. Chapter 2 - I, Cerren Richards, designed and identified the research questions, analyzed the data, prepared the figures and tables, and authored the manuscript. - Robert S.C. Cooke contributed body mass, clutch size, habitat breadth and diet guild trait data for 281 seabird species.
    [Show full text]
  • Breeding Ecology of the Swallow-Tailed Gull, Creagrus Furca Tus •
    THE AUK A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY VoL. 87 APRIL 1970 NO. 2 BREEDING ECOLOGY OF THE SWALLOW-TAILED GULL, CREAGRUS FURCA TUS • MICHAEL P. HARRIS THE GalfipagosSwallow-tailed Gull, Creagrusfurcatus--referred to as Creagrusthroughout this paper--was little known until a seriesof papers by Moynihan (1962), Hailman (1964a, 1964b, 1965), Snowand Snow (1967, 1968), and Nelson (1968a) showedit to be one of the most aberrant and interestingspecies of gulls. Hailman (1964b) showedthat the speciesbreeds throughout the year but that natural groupingsof nests have their breedingsynchronized, probably by socialstimulation. Snow and Snow (1967), workingon South'Plaza Island, found that individual pairs of gulls lay, on average,every 10 monthsif successfulin raisinga young,and rather more frequentlyif unsuccessful.Between cycles the molting adults are absent from the coloniesfor an averageof about 4.5 months. With the exceptionof the Snows,who made fortnightly observa- tions betweenFebruary 1963 and April 1964, observersof the specieshad spentlittle time in Gal•pagosand a further long-termstudy on the species was obviouslyneeded. Between November 1965 and July 1967 my wife and I were resident at the Charles Darwin ResearchStation in the Gal•pagos and were able to make regular visits to Plaza and scattered observations at most other seabird coloniesin the archipelago. We spent at least 10 days a month on Plaza, with a singleexception, usually divided into a stay of a week or more with several day visits timed so that never more than 10 days elapsedwithout a visit. In all we spent 208 days on the island. The systematicposition of the speciesis obscure,but in view of its specializedbiology and behavior I have consideredit best left in the monotypicgenus and have not followed Moynihan (1959) in lureping all the gulls into a singlegenus Larus.
    [Show full text]
  • Galapagos: an Intimate Look at Darwin's Islands II 2019
    Field Guides Tour Report Galapagos: An Intimate Look at Darwin's Islands II 2019 Jul 6, 2019 to Jul 16, 2019 Willy Perez & local guide For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. Waved Albatross are rather funny when they are on land and doing their displays, but they are magnificent fliers. We were able to see them both on land, and in the air! Photo by guide Willy Perez. This was the second Field Guides tour to the Galapagos in 2019 and I have to say that it was a success. Everything worked out well and our boat, the Nemo III, was a perfect home and allowed us to visit every island possible. We were very busy doing panga rides where Penguins and Marine Iguanas were so close. We walked to places where thousands of Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels were flying around. We watched a wonderful display of Waved Albatross. We worked hard to try to see every Finch possible in our itinerary; some of them were very easy to identify, like the Large-ground Finch. We also witnessed some of the oddities that happen in the Galapagos, like the Flightless Cormorant that has lost the ability to fly because they just don't need it anymore; evolution is crazy. Nocturnal Gulls following the boat in the pitch dark. Even the Galapagos Rail and the Paint-billed Crake showed up so nicely that I couldn't believe it. We went to the islands mainly for birds, but the reptiles were amazing, too.
    [Show full text]
  • Modelling and Mapping Trophic Overlap Between Fisheries and the World's Seabirds
    Modelling and mapping trophic overlap between fisheries and the world's seabirds by Vasiliki S. Karpouzi B.Sc, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 2001 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Zoology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA May, 2005 © Vasiliki S. Karpouzi, 2005 Abstract Seabird food consumption may reveal the potential for competition between seabirds and fisheries. I ndeed, coexistence of foraging seabirds and operating fisheries inevitably results in interactions, one of which is competition for the same resources. I used GIS-based modelling at a scale of 30-min spatial cells to: (a) map the foraging distribution of seabirds; (b) predict their annual food consumption rates in a spatially-explicit manner; and (c) estimate a spatially-explicit seabird - fisheries overlap index. Information on the population size, diet composition and foraging attributes of 351 species of seabirds was compiled into a Microsoft Access database. Trophic levels, expressing the position of seabirds in the marine ecosystem, were estimated for each species using diet composition data. Global annual food consumption by seabirds was estimated to be 96.4 million tonnes (95% CI: 78.0 to 114.7 million tonnes), compared to a total catch of nearly 120 million tonnes by all fisheries. Krill and cephalopods comprised over 58% of the overall food consumed and fishes most of the remainder. The families Procellariidae (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, etc.) and Spheniscidae (penguins) were responsible for more than 54% of the overall food consumption. Mapping the foraging distribution of seabirds revealed that, areas near New Zealand, the eastern coast of Australia, and the sub-Antarctic islands have high seabird species richness.
    [Show full text]