Santa Cruz and Quito (Galapagos and Ecuador) - 25th and 26th August (Day 12-13)

This was our final birding day on the Galapagos islands and we had few targets left - only one gettable endemic that we had not yet seen. We packed our bags after our final night on the Nemo III and the staff transferred us to Santa Cruz where we boarded our bus which was to stay with us for the day. We birded from north to south across the island feeling quite sad about having said goodbye to the Nemo III and her crew. Our first stop was at the main rock quarry in the centre of the island just off the E5 road where we were hoping for better views of Small Vermillion Flycatcher but with no luck. This has clearly declined from what was once quite a common bird to a scarce and difficult species. Highlights here were Galapagos Flycatcher, Galapagos Mockingbird, Vegetarian Finch and Cactus Finch but there were also large numbers of Small Ground-finch, Medium Ground-finch and Small Tree-finch which were highly responsive to pishing coming in to close quarters in small flocks.

Medium Ground-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Small Ground-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Small Ground-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Vegetarian Finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Woodpecker Finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Green Warbler-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Mockingbird - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Flycatcher - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Yellow Warbler - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

The liverwort Frullania aculeata - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

We then headed to Ranch Media Luna for Galapagos Crake on the flanks of Cerro Crocker in the islands central highlands. The moderately steep trail here was wet, muddy and birdless and it was difficult to maintain enthusiasm. We realised how wet the central highlands could be as we trudged along a difficult trail in near constant fog, rain or drizzle. Forrest trawled for the crake with his recordings but there was no response, we got wetter and a little more despondent. Eventually at last there was a response and after a short wait I saw a head appear in the trail side vegetation, at last Galapagos Crake and most of the group got onto it. We headed further up the trail and had good views of at least three other birds with a further three or so birds calling. The best was a bird that Sarah found right next to the trail and some of us had views of this bird down to a few metres as it skulked in the undergrowth. Happy with our views and with all of the possible endemics in the bag we slipped our way back down the hill towards the bus.

Yellow Warbler  - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Green Warbler-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Crake - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Crake - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Small Ground-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Small Ground-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Flycatcher - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

After lunch we headed to Rancho El Chato where in a lava tunnel were two roosting Barn Owl of the distinctive subspecies punctatissima. Here we also visited the tortoise sanctuary and enjoyed amazing views of these fantastic beasts as they roamed the forests and grasslands here. We spent the last couple of hours at the Charles Darwin Centre just outside of Puerto Ayora learning about the conservation of the islands. Here we also saw Cactus Finch, Vegetarian Finch and Lava Gull. Finally, we visited the stuffed body, held in a glass case, of the last remaining tortoise from Pinta Island known affectionately as Lonesome George - the last of his kind. We then headed into the thronging tourist centre of Puerto Ayora on the south coast of the island, it was strange to be back to 'civilisation' after spending so much time on Nemo III and on uninhabited islands.  We stayed in the very pleasant Ikala Hotel and were able to spread out in a Queen-sized bed. We went out to dinner in the town and then to an American style beer bar before a relatively late night to bed at 23:00.

Barn Owl of subspecies punctatissima - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Barn Owl of subspecies punctatissima - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Barn Owl of subspecies punctatissima - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Giant Tortoise - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Tobias with Galapagos Giant Tortoise - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Giant Tortoise - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Giant Tortoise - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Lava Lizard - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Large Ground-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Small Ground-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Common Cactus-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Common Cactus-finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Vegetarian Finch - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Galapagos Giant Tortoise - Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos

Our navigation around the Galapagos Islands

The 26th August was almost entirely a travelling day, we awoke at our hotel in Puerto Ayora at 06:00 and headed for a 07:00 breakfast and after packing boarded our bus for the one hour drive to the ferry terminal for the short crossing to Baltra Island seeing a few of the now familiar seabirds that inhabit the shoreline of Galapagos. Boarding the public bus on Baltra Island we had a short journey to the airport enjoying the last of the volcanic landscape. After a smooth check and then playing with the Medium Ground-finch and Small Ground-finch that inhabit the airport cafe, we boarded our 11:15 flight direct to Quito arriving in the city at 14:30, a two hour flight, Quito being one hour ahead of Galapagos. We transferred to the Wyndham Hotel only 10 minutes from the airport and spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel.

Small Ground-finch and Medium Ground-finch have even adapted to taking scraps from plates in the airport on Santa Cruz

List of Birds Recorded in Galapagos
We recorded 70 species 34 of which were ticks for me (shown in bold). Birds of the trip for me were  Waved Albatross and Swallow-tailed Gull.

White-cheeked Pintail
American Flamingo
Red-billed Tropicbird
Galapagos Dove
Smooth-billed Ani
Dark-billed Cuckoo
Galapagos Rail
Paint-billed Crake
American Coot
Common Gallinule
Galapagos Penguin
White-vented Storm-petrel
Band-rumped Storm-petrel
Wedge-rumped Storm-petrel
Markham's Storm-petrel
White-faced Storm-petrel
Waved Albatross
Galapagos Petrel
Galapagos Shearwater
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Green-backed Heron
Great Blue Heron
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Brown Pelican
Great Frigatebird
Magnificent Frigatebird
Red-footed Booby
Blue-footed Booby
Nazca Booby
Flightless Cormorant
American Oystercatcher
Black-winged Stilt
Grey Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope
Spotted Sandpiper
Wandering Tattler
Brown Noddy
Swallow-tailed Gull
Lava Gull
Common Barn-owl
Short-eared Owl
Galapagos Hawk
Galapagos Flycatcher
Little Vermilion Flycatcher
Galapagos Martin
Floreana Mockingbird
Galapagos Mockingbird
Espanola Mockingbird
San Cristobal Mockingbird
American Yellow Warbler
Grey Warbler-finch
Green Warbler-finch
Vegetarian Finch
Large Tree-finch
Medium Tree-finch
Small Tree-finch
Woodpecker Finch
Small Ground-finch
Medium Ground-finch
Genovesa Ground-finch
Large Ground-finch
Espanola Cactus-finch
Common Cactus-finch
Genovesa Cactus-finch

Links to Other Days of the Trip (Click to View)

14th August (Day 1) – International flight to Quito.
15th August (Day 2) – Mashpi Lodge.
16th August (Day 3) –Mashpi Lodge.
17th August (Day 4) – Mashpi Lodge and transfer to Quito.
18th August (Day 5) – Fly to from Quito to Galapagos Islands. Then sail to North Seymour Island.
19th August (Day 6) – Genovesa Island, Galapagos.
20th August (Day 7) – North-west Isabela Island and Fernandina Island, Galapagos. 
21st August (Day 8) – South-east Isabela Island, Galapagos.
22nd August (Day 9) – Espanola Island, Galapagos. 
23rd August (Day 10) – Floreana Island and Champion Island, Galapagos. 
24th August (Day 11) – San Cristobal Island and Sante Fe Island, Galapagos. 
25th August (Day 12) – Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos.
26th August (Day 13) – Fly Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos to Quito. 
27th August (Day 14) – Antisana Ecological Reserve then fly Quito to London. 

North Norfolk - 7th-10th February

Sarah had brought for me, at Christmas, a photography course with David Tipling and so we all headed up to North Norfolk for the weekend. David is a recent convert from Nikon to Olympus and is now an ambassador for Olympus. The main aim for me was to glean some of his knowledge in using the Olympus set-up for bird photography, particularly in low light. Since switching from Canon to the Olympus OMD MK-1 Mark II, I had been struggling to get the results that I had been achieving with the Canon and so felt that I needed some guidance. David's website can be viewed here, he runs a range of courses and I would throughly recommend booking with him if you are new to Olympus.

We travelled up on 7th arriving in North Norfolk at 15:00, to stretch the legs after a 4.5 hour drive we headed to Titchwell and walked out to the beach. There were large numbers of Brent Goose on the reserve but water levels were high and bird numbers low. On the beach I scanned the sea and picked up Red-necked Grebe, three Slavonian Grebe and a few Common Eider. On the beach were large numbers of Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot and Sanderling. At 16:30 with Sarah cold and Tobias tired it was time to head for the hotel and a much needed beer.

On Friday 8th I met David at 07:30 in dark, windy and fairly wet conditions and we drove to his woodland hide where we spent the first few hours of the day. Despite the poor weather conditions there were good numbers of birds coming into his pool and feeders and over the morning we had good views of many common woodland birds - unfortunately, the Marsh Tit which were so vocal around the hide only dropped down for brief visits. We spent much of our time working through the camera settings and becoming familiar with the menu's and learning to shoot in the low light conditions.

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Eurasian Blackbird

Great Tit

Common Pheasant

Coal Tit

European Robin

We then went onto Cley where the wind was blowing a gale and, at times, the rain was almost horizontal. We spent some time studying the flock of several hundred Brent Goose along the Beach Road. At the beach we walked east along the shingle to see if we could see a Glaucous Gull that had been present feeding on a dead seal but unfortunately the bird was distant and roosting on the marsh. A flock of around 30 Snow Bunting gave some consolation but it was very difficult to photograph them in the high wind.

Brent Geese - Cley-Next-The-Sea

Brent Geese - Cley-Next-The-Sea

Brent Geese - Cley-Next-The-Sea

Snow Bunting - Cley-Next-The-Sea

Snow Bunting - Cley-Next-The-Sea

We had a brief lunch stop at Morston Quay where we were hoping for an obliging Spotted Redshank but instead there was an obliging Common Redshank. We headed in-land scanning the fields and eventually found a covee of 16 Grey Partridge at fairly close range

Common Redshank - Morston Quay

Grey Partridge 

Grey Partridge

We then went onto a small stream where David had been feeding a Water Rail, it wasn't long before the bird appeared at close range but unfortunately the bird did not show for long, presumably due to the high winds. We finished the day at Holme Marshes Reserve hoping for a Bittern or a Barn Owl but saw neither. Despite the windy and occasionally wet day we had seen a few nice species and I had definitely found a new confidence with my Olympus set-up; now time to practice.

Water Rail

Water Rail - I quite like the sharp head and the movement shown in the legs and body in this shot

On Saturday we woke to a sunny day but the wind was even stronger. After a leisurely breakfast I convinced Sarah and Tobias that a short walk along the shingle at Cley to see the Glaucous Gull feeding on a dead seal was a good idea but when we arrived, not only was it nearly impossible to stand, but once again the gull was off on the marsh and was far too distant. I think even Tobias was upset at dipping seeing the gull feed on a dead seal. On the return walk a flock of some 70 Snow Bunting was some conciliation. We then headed inland to the road between Wiveton and Langham where up to four 'Tundra' Bean Goose have been present with c.3,000 Pink-footed Geese since 5th February. We stopped route to watch boxing Hare's which are always enthralling to watch. On arrival at the sugar-beet field where the geese were frequenting, there were a few birders present and I was soon onto a couple of Bean Goose. They were very easy to pick-out of the masses of Pink-footed Goose by way of their bright orange legs.

Pink-footed Goose - Between Wiveton and Langham 

'Tundra' Bean Goose with Pink-footed Goose - Between Wiveton and Langham 

Pink-footed Goose, note the Barnacle Goose at the top of the image, I failed to notice this bird and my images show two birds to be present - Between Wiveton and Langham 

We then headed to Holkham where a flock of c.30 Horned Lark have been wintering, we parked on Lady Anne Drive, which is like a zoo now that the new visitor centre has been constructed. Sarah and Tobias wanted to stay in the car due to the wind so I walked swiftly to Holkham Gap through the crowds and quickly came across a small group of birders watching the Shore Lark. The birds were moderately close, maybe 20m away, feeding in the saltmarsh vegetation. Always great to see these stunning little birds. I watched them for around 15 minutes until the flock took off and flew north much further away from the path, in flight I counted 29 birds, the largest flock I had seen in the UK.

Horned Lark - Holkham Gap

Horned Lark - Holkham Gap

Egyptian Goose - Lady Annes Drive, Holkham

After dropping Sarah back at the hotel for a spa treatment, Tobias and I set-out to look for Barn Owl, he was really keen to see Barn Owl. We drove from Burnham Market and out to the coast road and fairly quickly I spotted a distant Barn Owl hunting the meadows to the north of the coast road at Burnham Overy Mill. The bird headed north-west and we followed it along the main road to Norton Hall Farm where we eventually had great views. Tobias was made up with this and wanted a toy Barn Owl to celebrate so we popped to Titchwell where we obtained said toy and also got good views of a Woodcock in the car park. We spent the last hour of the day driving the fields inland trying to get photos and more looks of Hare but despite seeing many we never found one close enough for decent photos. The highlight was a fantastic flock of around 5,000 Pink-footed Goose that we came across in fields north of Stanhoe, as we parked on the verge next to the fields the flock took flight and passed overhead, an amazing site and sound.

Barn Owl - Norton Hall Farm, Burnham Norton

Barn Owl - Norton Hall Farm, Burnham Norton

Barn Owl - Norton Hall Farm, Burnham Norton

Eurasian Woodcock - Titchwell RSPB Car Park

On Sunday we woke to heavy rain and so afterbreakfast we headed back and were home by 14:30 just in time to watch England thrash France in the Six Nations, a fine end to a highly enjoyable weekend.