Española Island

We have just begun our expedition through the Galápagos Islands, and although we travelled just 85 nautical miles overnight, it amounted to about four million years back in time! Española is located all the way to the southeast of the archipelago, hence is the furthest away from the active hotspot that gave birth to this volcanic chain: its most recent lava flows have been dated at about 3.4 million years of age. Española was once a tall, active volcano that has since dwindled away and succumbed to the forces of erosion, yet remains one of the most magnificent islands in the group, with landscapes defined by dramatic cliffs and thunderous seas.

This old island is home to a great many species: its own mockingbird, lava lizard, three finch species and a beautiful variety of red marine iguana. It is also an irresistible magnet to myriad seabirds that nest in vast colonies: blue-footed boobies and Nazca boobies on the island itself; swallow-tailed gulls, Galápagos shearwaters and red-billed tropicbirds in the towering cliffs.

The greatest highlight of all, however, is the largest and most spectacular of our Galápagos seabirds: the waved albatross. One of fourteen albatross species found worldwide, this medium-sized albatross (with a wingspan of “only” 7.5 feet) has a relatively restricted range compared to the rest of these ocean-going birds: it is encountered only in the offshore waters off western South America, from northern Chile to northern Ecuador, and ranging westward to just beyond the Galápagos – a range encompassing a “mere” 16° of latitude! Albatrosses are incredible birds, the most truly sea-faring of all the seabirds; they have the highest aspect ratio (the ratio of wingspan to wing area) of any bird, resulting in great lift (a result of an extended leading edge to the wing) and very little drag. They can glide for weeks at a time, reaching speeds in excess of thirty miles an hour, which enables them to cover a lot of ocean. Rarely flapping its wings, the albatross relies on dynamic soaring: a process by which a bird utilizes wind energy rather than the kinetic energy of flapping. They can spend years out at sea, only ever coming in to land upon reaching sexual maturity (at about six years of age).

The waved albatross has a total population of about 50 thousand individuals, with only two nesting colonies in the world: a small colony of a dozen or so pairs nesting on the “Isla de la Plata” off the coast of Ecuador, and about twelve thousand pairs nesting on Española. We are at present at the very height of this breeding season, and there is nothing more amusing and endearing than watching the strange motions of their courtship rituals, involving a great deal of head swinging and avian fencing! The adorably absurd albatross chicks, that we have been monitoring since they first hatched a few weeks ago, are rapidly growing – and getting fatter by the day as they are filled by the rich fish oil their parents produce after days at sea! They are gradually growing until they become ready to fledge and take the great leap off the Española cliffs in January, not to return until they themselves are ready to start the breeding cycle.