This individual was quite predictable, as it kept coming back to this branch – in what seemed like a display of peekaboo. With bright colors and a blood red iris to match, it was definitely seen out on the branch, and when business was done – drinking from the hummingbird feeders – it hid in [...]
Yanacocha has recently succeeded in domesticating the Rufous Antpitta, something my guide was unaware of the first time we went to this reserve in November. Luckily I wanted to go back to fill idle time in Quito before my departure back to Europe in December. I was photographing only 20 metres away and still did [...]
At 05:39 in the morning the light is still very dim – the sun is well below the horizon. My eyes could only see the silhouette of the Heron against the brightening sky. The blue hour is when the darkness of night is just barely broken by a few photons of light from the sun [...]
A large bird like this should be easy to see, but the Herons are expert at standing still no matter what their position is. They will assess the best cost benefit, and often they will fly off only if we get really close. Distance here is just 8 metres! The vegetation is very dense, so [...]
One couple was nesting underneath the pier. I first thought they roosted there during the nights, but one day I was swimming I noticed the nest. They seem to feel secured by the human activities to and fro, day in and out, but when I checked out the nest from above one day, it created [...]
For a human in the jungle it’s mostly about looking up to the canopy where much of the life resides. Adding distance and high contrast (fauna is dark against the very bright background) it’s usually very hard to see what’s moving. It’s often hearing and not seeing. Every now and then you will see trees [...]
The nest is perfectly camouflaged against the branch, and the green back of the tiny bird could easily be mistaken for one of the countless leaves on this tree. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands to observe that is. Like eco tourists sitting on their wonderful porch outside their huge Napo [...]
What a peculiar bird. For one its song repertoire is stuck on one note – the intro of the Magpie which it will repeat over and over again. Then there is the flapping of the wings – sometimes they open them and use them in a way that resembles a cape. It seems they are [...]
If you don’t see this bird, you will definitely hear it. Its sounds are simply amazing and unmistakable!
The parrot licks are not necessarily visited by the same species throughout the year, and on this lick (Saladero de Pericos) the Orange-cheeked Parrot will be visiting during the months of October/November to March/April. This parrot is perhaps the easiest to recognise, as there are no other with orange cheeks. Despite the bright orange spots, [...]
This clay lick (Saladero de Pericos) is located around 800 metres from the creek and is visited later in the day than many of the others. After 10 in the morning they might come. Might – is the word, because for reasons unknown they might stay in the trees, as they did this day. Hundreds [...]
The Blue-headed Parrots never went down from the trees to the Napo River parrot lick used by most other parrots – and that is the way of the licks. One day they may be inundated by parrots, the next day they might wait and wait and perhaps never go down to the lick. In rain [...]
This is on the bank of the Napo River between the two clay licks. Nightjars are one my favorite birds, as they have incredible sounds, are elusive by night, and very hard to find during day – unless you know where they usually roost, like is the case here.
The large bird is a Mealy Amazon. The size, it’s one of the biggest parrots, the greyish tint on the back and the wider white eyering are keys to tell them apart. This particular clay lick is only accessible by boat and you need powerful outboards to equalize the very strong currents and hold the [...]
They totally outnumbered the other parakeets and parrots at this lick, and this day. Only one other species is seen here – the larger Yellow-crowned Amazon. In this amazingly diverse area of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Yasuni National Park) there are many clay licks and apparently no clay lick is the same to the birds looking [...]
How do Parrots, Macaws, Amazons and Parakeets choose a particular location and clay? This one is most definitely accessible only to birds or humans with a boat and a powerful outboard. They are also protected by the Anangu Quichua Community, the owners of Napo Wildlife Center, so if safety is high on the list this [...]
The Mealy amazon was not as common as the Yellow-crowned Amazon at this lick, and is at first easily confused with it. The size, it’s one of the biggest parrots, the greyish tint on the back and the wider white eyering are keys to tell them apart.
This is one peculiar bird! One or two birds will vocalise in a chit-chat manner but when they are several more, the synchronized sound created is otherwordly! First I thought I heard some distant machinery – perhaps from a plane, but around the bend of the creek a flock of perhaps 20 Anis were chanting [...]
It looks very similar to the Great Kiskadee, but on location their different sizes is the easiest way to identify. If you are off-site, the size of the bill is probably the best way, and the bill of the Great Kiskadee is larger, wider. and simply looks more powerful. Best is to have the photo [...]
The only yellow bird in Galapagos. Here it’s foraging for food very close to a sea lion and the waves inside a wide crevice. It had to jump out of the way and back to whatever temptations were there. As this location was constantly being drenched by the sea, it’s apparently eating tiny crustaceans.
This individual was fast asleep, and just occasionally opened its eyelids to check us out.
The population is limited to Fernandina and portions of Isabela, and is as a species vulnerable. It’s an agile swimmer and and expert of catching fish – on land it is a different matter. Perfectly camouflaged against the black lava rocks. Where is evolution going? Will the wings be nothing more than a Penguin’s in [...]
What a difference in behavior to the European Oystercatcher! The European Oystercatcher is extraordinarily vocal and territorial. Here they are heard now and then, and their “song contests” are short lived, even though they are nesting. I assume this is due to few individuals in the vicinity, and that a denser population would call for [...]
Very strange to see penguins in the tropics! They were not abundant and I saw no real colonies, but like here on the west side of Isabela I saw some clusters of individuals. This one appears to be the parent of a near fully grown chick. They are on a ledge with sheer cliffs above [...]
This is at the opening of a large cave pounded by the waves. It’s quite dark, and against the lava rock the Noddy is not so easy to see, and even more problematic to photograph as I’m sitting in a Zodiak on a choppy sea.
This booby is resting on a sheer cliff right outside a big cave, where waves are constantly pounding the walls and the cave.
The juvenile of the Great Frigatebird has a certain “naughtiness” and even a bit spookiness to it, and yes that is definitely what is to become of this juvie. As adults they are masters of treachery and theft. The know when a boobie is returing home to feed its chick, and times its interception masterly [...]
For once I think the female is more beautiful – at least in this posture and light! It difficult to tell the the Great and Magnificent Frigatebird apart except on close range. The Great Frigatebird has a green iridescense in the back feathers, while the Magnificent has a purple. The Great Frigatebird also has a [...]
The male is less extravagant outside the breeding season when the red pouch is deflated. It’s difficult to tell the the Great and Magnificent Frigatebird apart except on close range. The Great Frigatebird has a green iridescense in the back feathers, while the Magnificent has a purple. The Great Frigatebird also has a brown color [...]
I’m used to wary and nervous doves, but as this is Galapagos, it barely made any change in behavior due to the human visitors – which is endless walking and and picking whatever is edible off the ground.
I had high expectations going to the south end of the island – only accessible by boat and a man made “staircase” (Prince Philip’s Steps) to the flat top of the island. I was told a healthy population of this specialized owl resides here. It started very well, by an exciting “look – the owl” [...]
Gulls were in various stages of breeding and it ranged from incubating eggs to roaming chicks.
A large wader, and even though it does not breed here it is most definitely behaving like a permanent resident as it’s not at all afraid of human presence. I’m used to very wary waders that will take off if I get any closer than 100-200 metres.
The color of the Lava Heron looks rather dull and grey, until you get close up like this. In certain angles to the light you can see some iridescence. Like the other herons in Galapagos you won’t see it unless you know what to look for, or it moves. The plumage is a perfect camouflage [...]
The juvenile looks very different from the adult but is recognized by its larger size compared to the other herons, in addition to the lack of yellow between the eye and bill (the lore) and legs.
Being used to the extremely shy European Grey Heron it was somewhat hard to know they were there! Their plumage closely match the color of lava rocks on which they rest during the day. This one barely opened one eyelid to see what changed the audio-landscape (my body changing the way the sound is absorbed [...]
Genovesa has a large population of boobies, and the mangrove-clad beach is no different. This is the “brown” plumage phase of the species. During the other phase it’s white – and closely resembles the Nasca Booby. What tells them apart is the blue bill and the pink skin.
Hmm Red-footed Booby, you say…? These feet belong to a juvenile, which will have to wait for them to turn red. The adult. It looks a bit out of place – webbed feet trying to hold around a branch of a mangrove tree, but they seem to handle it just as well as those without [...]
As with the other birds on the beach of Genovesa, the gulls are not at all disturbed by the humans visiting – it seems we are regarded as part of the “background noise” – a normal part of the wildlife. This call is therefore to other fellow gulls and not a distress call. It’s plumage [...]
The only beach on Genovesa has quite a few Swallow-tailed gulls among the Boobies and Fregate birds. The striking red eye-ring is hyptnotizing and the gulls are just beautiful to watch as they gracefully and rather slowly move around – if at all. Several individuals seem hung up on heir feet as they repeatedly look [...]
Even though some birds are quite large, their behavior is often to stay in the canopy and are thus only partly visible. Sometimes they are fully visible only when in flight. My one day at Tinalandia only offered one sighting of the emerald Toucanet, and this is most visible position it offered! If it didn’t [...]
Altitude 2115 metres.
There are 3 caciques that look very similar (Red-rumped, Scarlet and Subtropical) and when the red is concealed it’s even more hard. Again it’s the local bird list and species range that will settle the classification. Altitude 2112 metres.
The lodge currently has two antpitta feeding stations, and this one is by far the darkest and most difficult, as the Peruvians are wary and small. This translates to a great distance (focus distance is 15 metres) between where the worms are placed and where I can stand. Although it’s 08:13 in the morning, it’s [...]
This is from the feeding area closest to the lodge and the second species of Antpitta that is now domesticated enough to both accept worms from humans as well as spectators. Without the efforts of the lodge (and other parks in Ecuador) it would be much harder to see them, and most would have to [...]
Possibly the first bird you’ll see when arriving at San Isidro! It’s “all over the place”, yet I didn’t get many good photo opportunities, for some reason. I guess I thought “oh it’s so common I’ll rather focus on the less common birds first”. When I finally took the opportunity it was just an hour [...]
Altitude 2126 metres.
Northern lights (Aurora borealis)
Napo Wildlife Center
Octauius Swordtail (Chorinea octauius)
Noctilucent clouds
Masked Flowerpiercer (Diglossopis cyanea)
Isbjørn (Ursus maritimus)
Napo Wildlife Center
First northern lights (Aurora borealis) of 2010 
Blåklokke (Campanula rotundifolia)
Pinnacle Rock - Bartolome Island
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus galapagensis)
Roraima in the morning
Roraima bush toad (Oreophrynella quelchii)
Skogsveve (Hieracium sylvatica)
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus galapagoensis)
Galápagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki)
2009 total solar eclipse - the longest eclipse of the century
Cobalt-winged Parakeet (Brotogeris cyanoptera)
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Copyright © 2012 Morten Ross.
