The Galapagos Islands are house to a number of the world’s most original species. However alongside large tortoises, flightless cormorants, sea lions, waved albatross and extra, there are my favorite birds of prey: owls.
Trying to find owls in Galapagos
I really like owls whether or not they’re gliding over tough grassland in Yorkshire or volcanic Pacific outcrops and I paint them usually. So after I visited the Galapagos Islands, I could not depart with out seeing which owl species lived right here.
However it was every week earlier than I noticed my first short-eared owl. It was perched on a roadside fence and I used to be so excited at seeing its acquainted kind I requested the motive force of our automobile to drag over and shortly lent out of the window with my digicam. I had been touring the islands lengthy sufficient to know that the wildlife there’s so tame that you would be able to stroll amongst it, however I used to be instinctively cautious about approaching the owl. The short-eared owls I am accustomed to watching in Yorkshire are cautious so it isn’t straightforward getting shut sufficient to {photograph} them.
away.” Certain sufficient the hen barely glanced in my route after I approached to take pictures of it at nearer quarters. This was a far cry from the lengthy hours I’ve spent crouched within the tall grass on a dale facet, dressed from head to toe camouflage so as to get wherever close to a brief eared owl.
A younger farmer was standing close by throwing stones at it. Santiago went over and spoke to him in Spanish. It turned out that this brazen owl was unpopular with the farmer. It had been taking his hen chicks each day and he threw issues at it to scare it away. I couldn’t consider it.
Owls vs Galapagos farmers
This form of battle between farmers and the wildlife surrounds them had already introduced concerning the lack of the Galapagos hawk from Santa Cruz Island. Realising I needed to get nearer to the owl, the farmer invited me into his farmyard. I used to be sporting sandals and the yard was sodden. Mud and cow pats squelched between my toes however the brief eared owl was fully unfazed at my strategy, which was stunning given the truth that the farmer had been attacking it so just lately. I may have reached out and touched it. What an exquisite alternative – I hope the farmer realises what an important tourism alternative he’s lacking out on.
Trying to find Galapagos barn owl
After this encounter I realised that the almost certainly place to discover a Galapagos barn owl was additionally going to be on or close to a farm. So with Santiago as translator, we visited a sugar cane farm. Right here we met a cheerful previous boy who confirmed us how he crushed the canes to make sugar syrup and molasses and the way he roasted the shells of espresso beans on an open hearth.
He took us to a hexagonal room with a bench operating in opposition to the outer wall.
This was a ‘tasting space’ and we nodded approvingly as he introduced out extra merchandise for us: sugar cane juice and lemon, molasses and extra. Hygiene was not on at high of the agenda right here and there have been canine mendacity on the dust flooring, chickens have been roaming about in every single place and wild birds have been pecking on the discarded sugar cane. I noticed some white splashes on the ground and I knew I’d discovered my barn owl. This was clearly barn owl poo. The previous man nodded and pointed to the highest of the constructing. He despatched his son to fetch an extended rickety ladder which wobbled alarmingly as I climbed it.
I peered into the highest of the dome and certain sufficient a barn owl was wanting again at me via the darkish, lower than a metre from my nostril.
The Galapagos barn owl is darker than our ‘white owl’ however in any other case it seems to be very comparable. As I photographed it I used to be reminded of house. It appeared an extended solution to come to see a barn owl.
That night it was with an important sense of satisfaction that I ticked the 2 owls off my lengthy record of Galapagos species.
