Flightless Cormorant: Facts and Where to See It

Adults are black above and dark brown below, with bright turquoise eyes and four webbed toes. The wings are stunted, a third of what flight would need. The Galapagos Conservation Trust explains the loss through natural selection: on islands with very few land predators, there was little need to fly away, and birds that swam better passed on more of their genes.

• Heaviest of its family. No other cormorant weighs as much, up to 5 kg.
• Webbed feet. Four webbed toes, like every cormorant.
• Females smaller. Males are larger than females.

Unable to fly, the cormorant is confined to the lava shores and beaches of the northwest coast of Isabela and the east coast of Fernandina, a very small range for a whole species. Nesting runs from May to October.

Fishing, El Niño and oil all hit it hard for the same reason: there is nowhere else for it to go.

Guide sighting records list flightless cormorants at 6 sites, all on the western islands. 2 are rated Likely: Punta Espinosa on Fernandina, often at the nest, and Urbina Bay on Isabela. Tagus Cove, Punta Moreno, Elizabeth Bay and Punta Vicente Roca on Isabela are rated Possible, mostly seen from a panga along the shore.

Flightless cormorants can be seen all year round, and nesting takes place from May to October. In the next twelve months, 328 departures stop at a site where they are seen.

It is listed as Vulnerable. With a small population packed into one stretch of coast, it is exposed to any change: the severe El Niño of 1983 killed half of all flightless cormorants. Fishing reduces its food and tangles birds in gear, and nest flooding, volcanic eruptions, illegal fishing, oil spills and plastic are further risks. On land, snakes, owls, hawks, cats and rats can take eggs or young; at sea, sharks.

The population has stabilised and grown since invasive species were controlled around nesting sites. Park rules keep visitors on the trail and at least 2 metres (6 feet) from nests.

1. Booking a route without the west. They live only on Isabela and Fernandina.
2. Skipping the panga rides. Several sites are seen from the water.
3. Crowding a nest. At Punta Espinosa the guides often see them at the nest; keep the 2-metre distance.