What a surprise when we entered the caldera of Genovesa! Our naturalists that were here last week all shouted "wow, how green!" I did too, although it is my first week back in Galapagos, but compared to the lower parts of all the other islands we have visited so far, Genovesa or Tower Island looked so different! In one week it has rained so much here that all palo santo trees (Bursera graveolens), which are leafless in the dry season, and other bushes and trees got their young leaves transforming the island into a refreshing green color.
It was also nice to know that Peter and Rosemary Grant were back on the island, the famous researchers of the Darwin finches' beaks. They started their research in 1973 and each single year they have been coming back to the islands, to know more and more about these little birds. They actually saw "natural selection", just as Darwin had predicted. They do their studies on several islands, the most important ones being Genovesa and Daphne.
On Genovesa we have 4 different finches, the picture shows the smallest of all 13 finches, the warbler finch. There is also the sharp-billed ground finch, the large cactus finch and the large ground finch although the status of this last one is uncertain on this island.
We didn't encounter the Grants, most of the research is done always away from visitor trails, and it wasn't possible anymore to see their tent due to the amount of vegetation but just knowing they were there gave us a special feeling.
Follow our website this week and next, we'll tell you more about the Grants and their work in the islands
