Northern Rough-winged Swallow

 

The Northern Rough-winged Swallow is a small long bodied bird with a small head and bill. It has long and relatively broad pointed wings and a square tail.

Found in open areas near water.

Flies with a slower and more deliberate wingbeat than other swallows.

It will often perch on open branches.

Tree Swallow

 

Tree Swallows winter farther north than any other swallow and are the first swallows to return to our area in the spring.

Tree Swallows nest in tree cavities and nest boxes. Their diet consists mainly of insects but may supplement their diet with berries.

They are among the best studied bird species in North America.

All About Birds

Clapper Rail

 

The Clapper Rail lives in saltwater marshes and mangrove swamps and lives most of it’s live concealed in dense vegetation.

Clapper Rails have a special salt gland that enables them to drink salt water.

When the chicks are about a week old, the parents divide the brood and each look after half the offspring.

Cornell All About Birds

Sora

 

Soras are small, chubby, chickenlike birds with long toes. Unlike other North American rails they have a stubby bill.

Soras tend to forage in dense vegetation pushing their head forward with every step while flicking the tail upward. Their long toes help them walk on top of floating mats of vegetation.

Soras make their homes in freshwater wetlands.

Cornell All About Birds

Salamanders

 

What a weekend.

On Saturday we had the chance to get out exploring with the lead guide from Running Wild Adventure Tours, Sharon Nethercott, and observe some butterflies with the Olympia Marble as our target butterfly.

Although Spring Azure, Brown Elfin, Mourning Cloak and Compton Tortoiseshell were all cool to see it was the Olympia Marble that stole the show.

Found in various open areas, including prairies, shale barrens, meadows, and open woodlands, it was lakeshore dunes where we concentrated our search.

These small butterflies, with a wing span of only 1 3/8 – 2 inches, can be found searching for rock cress.

On Sunday, the Nethercotts took us on a Salamander search. My grandson Ben tagged along and was thrilled with seeing all the salamanders.

Ben had seen salamanders before while birding with me on Pelee Island. The island has three species of salamanders. Red-spotted Newt, Small-mouthed, and Blue-spotted. It also is home to a unique population of all-female salamanders that are dependent on both Blue-spotted and Small-mouthed to reproduce.

On Sunday, we observed the Red-backed Salamander, both the red striped and the leadback versions.

We also observed the Blue-spotted Salamander.

These salamanders are lungless and instead absorb oxygen directly through their skin. They must remain moist at all times so that oxygen and carbon dioxide can diffuse through their skin.

Virginia Rail

 

Virginia Rails have started arriving in our area and although very secretive can be found in dense vegetation near freshwater marshes.

Rails have the highest ratio of leg muscles to flight muscles of any bird.

The Virginia Rail builds numerous “dummy “nests in addition to the one where the eggs are actually laid.

Cornell All About Birds

Eastern Towhee

 

Eastern Towhee have arrived in our area and can be found foraging in the underbrush trailside.

Lava Heron

 

The Lava Heron is endemic to the Galapagos Islands where they live and nest along the lava rock coastlines, saltwater lagoons, and mangrove forests.

Small fish and crabs are their primary food source.

So, this concludes our trip through the Galapagos Islands and I hope you have enjoyed the blog the last two weeks featuring some of the wildlife that inhabit the islands.

Starting tomorrow we will begin exploring some of our traditional wildlife for awhile before heading off on another adventure.

Thanks for following along.

Dave

Galapagos Penguin

 

The Galapagos Penguin is the smallest South American penguin and the only penguin to live near the equator.

It’s small size, allowing it to squeeze into crevasses, helps protect it from the sun. Behaviors like panting and extending flippers while standing also help release heat.

Swallow Tailed Gull

 

The Swallow Tailed Gull is endemic to the Galapagos Islands and has over fifty colonies spread over the entire archipelago.

The Swallow Tailed gull is an unique gull in that it feeds exclusively at night. It is the only nocturnal gull in the world.