[Leica] Iguanas and Hawks

[hcummer at gmail.com (Howard Cummer)]

Hi Jayanand,
Nice series as always - taken with the 70 - 200 f4.0, I presume.
I especially liked the land iguanas series for their colour and closeups.
Thanks for sharing,
Howard

Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2019 09:52:50 +0530
From: Jayanand Govindaraj <jayanand at gmail.com <mailto:jayanand at 
gmail.com>>
To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org <mailto:lug at 
leica-users.org>>, PSM
        <psm-1857 at googlegroups.com <mailto:psm-1857 at googlegroups.com>>
Subject: [Leica] Iguanas and Hawks

The next installment of Galapagos wildlife!

One of the iconic species in the Galapagos is the Iguana. Most know about
the Marine Iguana, but there is also a Land Iguana which populates the
interior. Like all the fauna of the Galapagos, they show no fear of humans,
and anyone can approach them and get very close, though the authorities,
very sensibly,  have prescribed a limit of 6 feet as the closest that
tourists are allowed to get to for all the animals/birds there.

The Marine Iguana is a unique species that has adapted itself to swimming
and diving in order to harvest the algae it lives on, making it an aquatic
reptile, and it is endemic to the Galapagos. They are gregarious and live
in large colonies:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181125-2590.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181125-2590.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181129-5852.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181129-5852.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181126-4077.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181126-4077.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181126-4099.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181126-4099.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181126-4015.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181126-4015.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181126-3910.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181126-3910.jpg.html>

Land Iguanas are also endemic to the Galapagos. With fresh water being very
scarce on the islands, which is the primary reason they never really got
inhabited by humans, the Land Iguanas primarily live on the prickly pear
cactus, which gives them all the moisture they need. They are highly
territorial, and live singly, defending territories:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181125-3296.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181125-3296.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181125-3303.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181125-3303.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181127-4664.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181127-4664.jpg.html>

On Isabela Island, we also ran into a very cooperative Immature Galapagos
Hawk, which posed for us for around half an hour perched on the same
branch. This is the raptor species found on the island that is seen
frequently, though it is thought that only around 200 breeding pairs
survive. Here are the three studies of junior:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181127-4831.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181127-4831.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181127-4869.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181127-4869.jpg.html>

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181127-4883.jpg.html
 
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Galapagos/Galapagos/Galapagos-20181127-4883.jpg.html>

Please see LARGE.

Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome

Cheers
Jayanand