How many people does it take to count 402 bird species in a day? In Mindo-Tandayapa's 2024–25 Christmas count, 242: 175 in the field and 67 watching feeders.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/ecuador-bird-watching-the-christmas
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/ecuador-bird-watching-the-christmas
September 26, 2026 at 4:30 PM
How many people does it take to count 402 bird species in a day? In Mindo-Tandayapa's 2024–25 Christmas count, 242: 175 in the field and 67 watching feeders.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/ecuador-bird-watching-the-christmas
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/ecuador-bird-watching-the-christmas
Which minke whale visits the Galápagos? Even Ecuador's 2021 Red Book can't say for sure: the islands' minkes could be Antarctic minkes or a dwarf form of the common minke.
#Galapagos #Whales
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/minke-whales-at-the-galapagos-islands
#Galapagos #Whales
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/minke-whales-at-the-galapagos-islands
September 24, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Which minke whale visits the Galápagos? Even Ecuador's 2021 Red Book can't say for sure: the islands' minkes could be Antarctic minkes or a dwarf form of the common minke.
#Galapagos #Whales
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/minke-whales-at-the-galapagos-islands
#Galapagos #Whales
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/minke-whales-at-the-galapagos-islands
How far does a young Galápagos red-footed booby roam when it first leaves home? On Genovesa, not far. GPS tracking in 2014 put juveniles' farthest points at about 3.6 km from the colony. Adults': about 203 km.
#Galapagos #Seabirds
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/red-footed-booby-galapagos-islands
#Galapagos #Seabirds
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/red-footed-booby-galapagos-islands
September 24, 2026 at 4:00 PM
How far does a young Galápagos red-footed booby roam when it first leaves home? On Genovesa, not far. GPS tracking in 2014 put juveniles' farthest points at about 3.6 km from the colony. Adults': about 203 km.
#Galapagos #Seabirds
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/red-footed-booby-galapagos-islands
#Galapagos #Seabirds
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/red-footed-booby-galapagos-islands
Does moonlight change how a waved albatross forages at night?
During chick-brooding, GPS tracking found over 92% of flights stayed within 100 km of Espanola — but nighttime flying rose and fell with the lunar phase.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-albatross-how-to-see-waved
During chick-brooding, GPS tracking found over 92% of flights stayed within 100 km of Espanola — but nighttime flying rose and fell with the lunar phase.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-albatross-how-to-see-waved
September 22, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Does moonlight change how a waved albatross forages at night?
During chick-brooding, GPS tracking found over 92% of flights stayed within 100 km of Espanola — but nighttime flying rose and fell with the lunar phase.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-albatross-how-to-see-waved
During chick-brooding, GPS tracking found over 92% of flights stayed within 100 km of Espanola — but nighttime flying rose and fell with the lunar phase.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-albatross-how-to-see-waved
Do humpback whale mothers and calves stick close to shore?
Very close — 12 of 16 mother-calf groups (75%) favored water 20m deep or less. Likely why: it keeps orcas and big sharks farther away, and costs calves less energy to swim.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/humpback-whales-at-the-galapagos
Very close — 12 of 16 mother-calf groups (75%) favored water 20m deep or less. Likely why: it keeps orcas and big sharks farther away, and costs calves less energy to swim.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/humpback-whales-at-the-galapagos
September 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Do humpback whale mothers and calves stick close to shore?
Very close — 12 of 16 mother-calf groups (75%) favored water 20m deep or less. Likely why: it keeps orcas and big sharks farther away, and costs calves less energy to swim.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/humpback-whales-at-the-galapagos
Very close — 12 of 16 mother-calf groups (75%) favored water 20m deep or less. Likely why: it keeps orcas and big sharks farther away, and costs calves less energy to swim.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/humpback-whales-at-the-galapagos
What's inside Europe's largest known underground canyon? Slovenia's Škocjan Caves run nearly two kilometers, up to 150 meters high, with a chamber over two million cubic meters. The word "karst" comes from this plateau.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/natural-and-cultural-wonders-of-croatia
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/natural-and-cultural-wonders-of-croatia
September 21, 2026 at 7:30 PM
What's inside Europe's largest known underground canyon? Slovenia's Škocjan Caves run nearly two kilometers, up to 150 meters high, with a chamber over two million cubic meters. The word "karst" comes from this plateau.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/natural-and-cultural-wonders-of-croatia
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/natural-and-cultural-wonders-of-croatia
Where does a loggerhead sea turtle go after release in the Adriatic? Marina, a satellite-tagged female freed off Piran, Slovenia, crossed the Gulf of Trieste and surfaced in Croatia's Kornati Islands — a trackable journey of her own.
https://bit.ly/4AfWXsX
https://bit.ly/4AfWXsX
Croatia & Slovenia Wildlife Guide
The wildlife of Croatia and Slovenia doesn’t announce itself the way an African safari does.
jonjared.substack.com
September 17, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Where does a loggerhead sea turtle go after release in the Adriatic? Marina, a satellite-tagged female freed off Piran, Slovenia, crossed the Gulf of Trieste and surfaced in Croatia's Kornati Islands — a trackable journey of her own.
https://bit.ly/4AfWXsX
https://bit.ly/4AfWXsX
How does Zadar's waterfront organ make music? Thirty-five organ pipes, tuned to different pitches, run beneath a marble staircase — architect Nikola Bašić and sound consultant Ivan Stamać built it so the push of the waves does the playing. No performer, no schedule, just the Adriatic on repeat.
Places We Visit in Croatia & Slovenia
Ask someone to picture the Balkans and they’ll usually land on one postcard: a walled Adriatic city at sunset.
jonjared.substack.com
September 17, 2026 at 12:00 AM
How does Zadar's waterfront organ make music? Thirty-five organ pipes, tuned to different pitches, run beneath a marble staircase — architect Nikola Bašić and sound consultant Ivan Stamać built it so the push of the waves does the playing. No performer, no schedule, just the Adriatic on repeat.
Do the sea lions on South Plaza Island all hunt alike?
No. Sensor data found three strategies running at once in a single Galápagos sea lion population: open water, seafloor, and night. Same colony, three ways of making a living.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
No. Sensor data found three strategies running at once in a single Galápagos sea lion population: open water, seafloor, and night. Same colony, three ways of making a living.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
September 16, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Do the sea lions on South Plaza Island all hunt alike?
No. Sensor data found three strategies running at once in a single Galápagos sea lion population: open water, seafloor, and night. Same colony, three ways of making a living.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
No. Sensor data found three strategies running at once in a single Galápagos sea lion population: open water, seafloor, and night. Same colony, three ways of making a living.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
Where does a bird go when it stops landing?
From January to March the waved albatross leaves Española entirely, crossing east and southeast to the shelf waters off Ecuador and Peru. For three months it does not touch ground — flying, or resting on the open ocean.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
From January to March the waved albatross leaves Española entirely, crossing east and southeast to the shelf waters off Ecuador and Peru. For three months it does not touch ground — flying, or resting on the open ocean.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
September 16, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Where does a bird go when it stops landing?
From January to March the waved albatross leaves Española entirely, crossing east and southeast to the shelf waters off Ecuador and Peru. For three months it does not touch ground — flying, or resting on the open ocean.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
From January to March the waved albatross leaves Española entirely, crossing east and southeast to the shelf waters off Ecuador and Peru. For three months it does not touch ground — flying, or resting on the open ocean.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
What did Darwin find at the bottom of Santiago's salt crater?
"A Lake, which is only 3 or 4 inches deep & lies on layers of pure & beautifully Crystallized Salt." Two companies later tried to mine it. The lake outlasted both.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
"A Lake, which is only 3 or 4 inches deep & lies on layers of pure & beautifully Crystallized Salt." Two companies later tried to mine it. The lake outlasted both.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
September 15, 2026 at 11:45 PM
What did Darwin find at the bottom of Santiago's salt crater?
"A Lake, which is only 3 or 4 inches deep & lies on layers of pure & beautifully Crystallized Salt." Two companies later tried to mine it. The lake outlasted both.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
"A Lake, which is only 3 or 4 inches deep & lies on layers of pure & beautifully Crystallized Salt." Two companies later tried to mine it. The lake outlasted both.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
How deep does a Galápagos penguin dive?
Recorded to 52 metres. But it spends about 90 percent of its underwater time in the top six, which is snorkelling depth.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
Recorded to 52 metres. But it spends about 90 percent of its underwater time in the top six, which is snorkelling depth.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
September 15, 2026 at 8:05 PM
How deep does a Galápagos penguin dive?
Recorded to 52 metres. But it spends about 90 percent of its underwater time in the top six, which is snorkelling depth.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
Recorded to 52 metres. But it spends about 90 percent of its underwater time in the top six, which is snorkelling depth.
https://jonjared.substack.com/
What is under the tundra on North Seymour Island?
Old seabed. A fault-block island: submarine lava lifted along a fault, not a volcano that grew. The flows are layered with beach deposits — seafloor in daylight, 28 metres up.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/north-seymour-island-galapagos-the
Old seabed. A fault-block island: submarine lava lifted along a fault, not a volcano that grew. The flows are layered with beach deposits — seafloor in daylight, 28 metres up.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/north-seymour-island-galapagos-the
September 15, 2026 at 1:48 PM
What is under the tundra on North Seymour Island?
Old seabed. A fault-block island: submarine lava lifted along a fault, not a volcano that grew. The flows are layered with beach deposits — seafloor in daylight, 28 metres up.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/north-seymour-island-galapagos-the
Old seabed. A fault-block island: submarine lava lifted along a fault, not a volcano that grew. The flows are layered with beach deposits — seafloor in daylight, 28 metres up.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/north-seymour-island-galapagos-the
How long is a Galápagos park guard's shift?
Twenty-two days in the field, six at home. Daniel Guerrero has worked that rota since 1988 — thirty-eight years of it. A national park, seen as a workplace.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/santa-cruz-galapagos-islands-a-comprehensive
Twenty-two days in the field, six at home. Daniel Guerrero has worked that rota since 1988 — thirty-eight years of it. A national park, seen as a workplace.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/santa-cruz-galapagos-islands-a-comprehensive
September 14, 2026 at 9:00 PM
How long is a Galápagos park guard's shift?
Twenty-two days in the field, six at home. Daniel Guerrero has worked that rota since 1988 — thirty-eight years of it. A national park, seen as a workplace.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/santa-cruz-galapagos-islands-a-comprehensive
Twenty-two days in the field, six at home. Daniel Guerrero has worked that rota since 1988 — thirty-eight years of it. A national park, seen as a workplace.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/santa-cruz-galapagos-islands-a-comprehensive
What actually has to happen for Oxbow Bend to turn gold?
Per NPS: a wet growing season, then dry sunny days and cool — not freezing — nights. Get that right and the cottonwoods go bright yellow while the aspen change to orange and red.
https://bit.ly/3VnFluY?
Per NPS: a wet growing season, then dry sunny days and cool — not freezing — nights. Get that right and the cottonwoods go bright yellow while the aspen change to orange and red.
https://bit.ly/3VnFluY?
September 10, 2026 at 4:49 PM
What actually has to happen for Oxbow Bend to turn gold?
Per NPS: a wet growing season, then dry sunny days and cool — not freezing — nights. Get that right and the cottonwoods go bright yellow while the aspen change to orange and red.
https://bit.ly/3VnFluY?
Per NPS: a wet growing season, then dry sunny days and cool — not freezing — nights. Get that right and the cottonwoods go bright yellow while the aspen change to orange and red.
https://bit.ly/3VnFluY?
Where was "The Horse Whisperer" shot?
Engle Ranch, Boulder River Valley near Big Timber, 1996–97, on a Yellowstone tributary. Ebert: "The very lifestyle of Redford's ranch is a character in the movie." Same country. Same light.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/walking-yellowstone-and-grand-tetons
Engle Ranch, Boulder River Valley near Big Timber, 1996–97, on a Yellowstone tributary. Ebert: "The very lifestyle of Redford's ranch is a character in the movie." Same country. Same light.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/walking-yellowstone-and-grand-tetons
Walking Yellowstone & Grand Tetons: Our Favorite Hikes
From boardwalks over geysers to a lakeside climb below the youngest mountains in the Rockies, these are the walks worth the effort.
jonjared.substack.com
September 10, 2026 at 1:00 AM
Where was "The Horse Whisperer" shot?
Engle Ranch, Boulder River Valley near Big Timber, 1996–97, on a Yellowstone tributary. Ebert: "The very lifestyle of Redford's ranch is a character in the movie." Same country. Same light.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/walking-yellowstone-and-grand-tetons
Engle Ranch, Boulder River Valley near Big Timber, 1996–97, on a Yellowstone tributary. Ebert: "The very lifestyle of Redford's ranch is a character in the movie." Same country. Same light.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/walking-yellowstone-and-grand-tetons
One satellite-tagged Galápagos turtle, nicknamed Ainoa, made her own loop — San Cristóbal to Santa Cruz to Isabela — every single year, timed to the cooler months. A personal migration route, chosen and repeated.
September 9, 2026 at 3:45 AM
One satellite-tagged Galápagos turtle, nicknamed Ainoa, made her own loop — San Cristóbal to Santa Cruz to Isabela — every single year, timed to the cooler months. A personal migration route, chosen and repeated.
Sei whales are the fastest whales alive — bursts over 34 mph from a 30-ton animal. Speed and size, somehow, in the same body.
September 9, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Sei whales are the fastest whales alive — bursts over 34 mph from a 30-ton animal. Speed and size, somehow, in the same body.
Frigatebirds glide for months on thermals alone, rising to 2,500 meters and coasting for miles, day and night. The largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird alive — flight as pure efficiency.
September 9, 2026 at 3:15 AM
Frigatebirds glide for months on thermals alone, rising to 2,500 meters and coasting for miles, day and night. The largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird alive — flight as pure efficiency.
A shark named for the Galápagos was tracked crossing thousands of kilometers to Panama and back — proof that protecting one archipelago's waters means protecting an entire ocean corridor other countries share too.
September 9, 2026 at 3:00 AM
A shark named for the Galápagos was tracked crossing thousands of kilometers to Panama and back — proof that protecting one archipelago's waters means protecting an entire ocean corridor other countries share too.
A flamingo courtship display is a whole colony's performance: heads snap straight, wings lift, and the entire flock marches in unison, right then left, like a line dance nobody choreographed but everybody knows.
September 9, 2026 at 2:45 AM
A flamingo courtship display is a whole colony's performance: heads snap straight, wings lift, and the entire flock marches in unison, right then left, like a line dance nobody choreographed but everybody knows.
Even in dense lava lizard neighborhoods with overlapping territories, each lizard's core space rarely overlaps a neighbor's — a kind of spatial etiquette holding even when boundaries technically touch.
Galapagos Lava Lizard - Galapagos Islands Wildlife Guide For Visitors
The Galapagos Lava Lizard is the most frequently sighted reptile on the Galapagos Islands.
jonjared.substack.com
September 9, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Even in dense lava lizard neighborhoods with overlapping territories, each lizard's core space rarely overlaps a neighbor's — a kind of spatial etiquette holding even when boundaries technically touch.
A Galápagos sea lion mother nursing a yearling dives deeper and travels farther than one with a month-old pup — pushing herself to the edge of what these waters can support, and doing it anyway.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-sea-lion-galapagos-islands
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-sea-lion-galapagos-islands
Galapagos Sea Lion - Galapagos Islands Wildlife Guide
The Galapagos Sea Lion is one of the stars of the show!
jonjared.substack.com
September 9, 2026 at 2:15 AM
A Galápagos sea lion mother nursing a yearling dives deeper and travels farther than one with a month-old pup — pushing herself to the edge of what these waters can support, and doing it anyway.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-sea-lion-galapagos-islands
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-sea-lion-galapagos-islands
Four entire island populations of Galápagos hawks share one identical genetic signature — proof each island's hawks are, quite literally, one unbroken family going back 300,000 years.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-hawk-galapagos-islands
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-hawk-galapagos-islands
Galapagos Hawk - Galapagos Islands Wildlife Guide
Welcome to the top of the Galapagos Islands food chain!
jonjared.substack.com
September 9, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Four entire island populations of Galápagos hawks share one identical genetic signature — proof each island's hawks are, quite literally, one unbroken family going back 300,000 years.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-hawk-galapagos-islands
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/galapagos-hawk-galapagos-islands
What does the ocean teach a kid raised on Galápagos? Toto Idrovo got his first surfboard at 11 from a traveling Brazilian surfer on San Cristóbal, sharing swells with Tortuga Bay's own Playa Brava. He calls the sea his teacher.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/tortuga-bay-galapagos-tourist-visitor
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/tortuga-bay-galapagos-tourist-visitor
September 7, 2026 at 11:45 PM
What does the ocean teach a kid raised on Galápagos? Toto Idrovo got his first surfboard at 11 from a traveling Brazilian surfer on San Cristóbal, sharing swells with Tortuga Bay's own Playa Brava. He calls the sea his teacher.
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/tortuga-bay-galapagos-tourist-visitor
https://jonjared.substack.com/p/tortuga-bay-galapagos-tourist-visitor