Galapagos Shearwater

The Galapagos shearwater is an endemic breeder in the Galapagos Islands. It breeds on Wolf, Champion, Espanola and Santa Cruz Islands and islets off Santa Cruz Island. I saw them on two occasions, once off Moreno Point, which is on Isabela and once of Baltra Island which is right off Santa Cruz. The best view I had was off Baltra while we were anchored and waiting to go to shore to leave. They were in a large flock on the water. 

Range map for the Galapagos shearwater from Wikipedia. 

It used to be considered an isolated subspecies of the Audubon's shearwater, but is now considered its own species. When not breeding it ranges mainly north and can be seen as far north as the Oaxacan coast of Mexico. 

Off Moreno Point.

It has dark brown upperparts, undertail and underwing flight feathers. The rest of the underparts are white. It feeds at sea, flying low over the water, eating squid, fish and offal. 

Off Baltra Island.

I've previously seen the great shearwater and sooty shearwater off New Brunswick, Canada, in the Bay of Fundy. 

Las Terrazas de Dana - Mindo, Ecuador

Our hotel on the outskirts of Mindo, Ecuador, Las Terrzas de Dana, had several bird feeders in front. One morning when we missed a connection for a birding tour I watched the bird feeders and found a surprising number of beautiful birds.

Blue-Gray tanager

Thick-billed euphonia

Scrub blackbird

Orange-billed sparrow

Tropical kingbird

White-lined tanager

Milpe Bird Sanctuary - Ecuador

The afternoons of March 18 and 19, 2022, I visited the Milpe Bird Sanctuary outside of Mindo, Ecuador, at an elevation of about 3,772 feet. They have a covered area where they serve lunch with close observation of several different hummingbird feeders and a large branch to which halved bananas are impaled to attract birds. I did not see the number or variety of birds that I saw at the Mashpi Amagusa Reserve, but saw some spectacular birds there that I did not see in Mashpi.

I saw 20 species of birds, including 6 species of hummingbird (the green-crowned brilliant, velvet-purple coronet, white-necked Jacobin, rufous-tailed hummingbird, crowned woodnymph and green thorntail); 3 species of toucan (Choco toucan, collared aracari and chestnut-madibled toucan), blue-gray tanagers, palm tanagers, a green honeycreeper, bananaquit, and a crested guan.

Bananaquit

Blue-Gray Tanager

Chestnut-mandibled toucan

Choco toucan

Collared or pale-mandibled toucan

Crested guan

Crowned woodnymph

Flame-rumped tanager

Golden-naped tanager

Golden tanager

Green honeycreeper

Green thorntail

Green-crowned brilliant

Palm tanager

Red-tailed squirrel

Velvet purple coronet

White-necked Jacobin