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Submitted Photo
These blue-footed boobies were photographed during their elaborate mating ritual at the Galapagos islands by Ivar and Phyllis Dolph. Pictured in an additional image is one of the island’s ancient prickly-pear cactuses. The Dolphs will show photos and discuss Ecuador on April 23 and Galapagos April 23 at the Anacortes Public Library.
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Canoeing 60 miles up a tributary of the Amazon River; climbing a 100-foot tower to view birds in a cloud forest in the Andes; hiking around the Galapagos Islands to see colonies of blue-footed boobies and tortoises — that’s a pretty adventurous vacation for anyone, let alone a couple of 71-year-olds.
Phyllis and Ivar Dolph will share stores of their January adventures in South America and show stunning photos of birds, plants and animals they encountered during presentations at 7 p.m. on two Wednesdays, April 23 and 30, at the Anacortes Public Library. Photos used in these presentations were taken by the Dolphs and their guide, Rudy Gelis.
After hearing about tours of Ecuador at the Skagit Audubon Society, the couple planned an excursion there with their son Eric. The Dolphs spent two weeks in the Amazonian basin and cloud forests and one week exploring the Galapagos Islands. The trio, two botanists and a zoologist, sighted 349 species of birds, including 47 species of tanagers and 35 species of hummingbirds, as well as untold numbers of flowers and plants on their natural history tour.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do for 30 years,” Phyllis said.
The presentations primarily focus on Ecuador’s birds and flowers, although there are some photographs of rare Galapagos reptiles and other creatures.
“We were birding and looking at plants,” Ivar emphasized.
On April 23 the Dolphs will focus on mainland Ecuador. Orchid enthusiasts will want to take note, because the couple brought back images of many exotic blooms.
On April 30 they will talk about the Galapagos Islands, where they saw blue-footed boobies, waved albatrosses, 1,000-year-old prickly-pear cactus plants, land and sea iguanas, giant tortoises, sea turtles, flightless cormorants, Galapagos penguins, and many other fascinating species.
“This is an incredible place,” Ivar said, noting that Darwin formulated the Theory of Evolution after studying the islands’ finches.
Another remarkable thing about the remote islands is that the area is so well-protected that the animals and birds have no fear of humans.
“A bird might come down and land right next to you,” Ivar said.
They were particularly delighted with the boobies.
“Probably the most exciting birds to see are the blue-footed boobies. They walk around like this,” he said, looking down as if admiring his feet.
“We were so lucky,” Phyllis said.
The isolated islands, 600 miles offshore, have a set number of species, many of which exist nowhere else on earth. In contrast, the cloud forest has vast numbers of species. Ivar said a visitor might see 21 species of rare birds one day and 21 different species the next day. As well as the tanagers and hummingbirds, they saw flocks of bright green parakeets and parrots at a clay lick.
“There are so many amazing things in the jungle,” he said.
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