Isla Guadalupe

Laysan Albatross nesting,
Isla Guadalupe, 2016
Photo by J. A. Soriano

Guadalupe Junco, Isla Guadalupe

Extinct Guadalupe Caracara,
Isla Guadalupe

• ISLA GUADALUPE COLLECTORS
• ISLA GUADALUPE FLORA
• ISLA GUADALUPE FAUNA
• ISLA GUADALUPE HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS
• ISLA GUADALUPE CHAIN OF TITLE
• ISLA GUADALUPE THROUGH TIME
• ISLA GUADALUPE PLACE NAMES

• ISLA GUADALUPE SHIPWRECKS
• ISLA GUADALUPE DEATHS
• ISLA GUADALUPE BIBLIOGRAPHY

ISLA GUADALUPE has been called one of the most interesting islands in the world. Located 180 miles west of the Baja California peninsula, this volcanic island, not attached to the continental shelf, rises from great ocean depths to 4,257 feet. It is 94 square miles in size ~ almost as large as Santa Cruz Island. Today temporary fishing camps are located on the island: Campo Norte ("North Camp", four buildings); Campo Lima (Campo Corrals); (one building); and Arroyitos (four buildings). An abandoned fishing community, Campo Este ("East Camp"), is located near a cove on the eastern shore. At the southern tip, on Melpómene Cove, there is a weather station staffed by a detachment from the Mexican Ministry of the Navy. The site is called Campamento Sur ("South Encampment"). Near the center of the island is a small dirt airstrip called Campo Pista.

Isla Guadalupe was the refuge of the last surviving elephant seals at the turn of the 19th century. It is home to the endemic Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi), in addition to a number of endemic birds:

• Townsend's storm petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa socorroensis) – only known breeding site
• Ainley's storm petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa cheimomnestes) – only known breeding site
• Guadalupe rock wren (Salpinctes obsoletus guadelupensis) – endemic
• Guadalupe house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus amplus) – endemic
• Guadalupe pipefish (Syngnathus insulae) – endemic
• Guadalupe junco (Junco hyemalis insularis) – endemic
• Guadalupe caracara (Caracara lutosa) – endemic, extinct

In 2005, the Mexican government declared Isla Guadalupe a protected biosphere reserve.

• THE LAST OF THE GUADALUPE CARACARA

• Result of the Fifth George Vanderbilt Expedition (1941), The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Monograph. Number 6, 1944

• Digging Their Graves With Their Teeth, by Laurence M. Huey.pdf

• Everett, William T. Rollo H. Beck’s Visits to Isla Guadalupe, Mexico, with Additions and Corrections to the Island’s Avifauna (2019)

Island Collections~

ISLAND	COLLECTOR	INSTITUTION	DATE	NUMBER	SPECIMEN
Isla Guadalupe	Edward Palmer	SDNHM	[1875]	SDNHM-2632	Caracara lutosus	Birds
Isla Guadalupe	Edward Palmer	SDNHM	[1875]	SDNHM-2633	Caracara lutosus	Birds
Isla Guadalupe	Edward Palmer	SDNHM	[1875]	SDNHM-2634	Caracara lutosus	Birds

ISLAND	COLLECTOR	INSTITUTION	DATE	NUMBER	SPECIMEN
Isla Guadalupe	Edward Palmer	SDNHM	[1875]	SDNHM-2632	Caracara lutosus	Birds
Isla Guadalupe	Edward Palmer	SDNHM	[1875]	SDNHM-2633	Caracara lutosus	Birds
Isla Guadalupe	W. A. Myers	UF	March 4, 1880	UF-1136	Caracara lutosus	Eggs/Nests
Isla Guadalupe	H. A. Ward	UF	March 4, 1880	UF-52321	Caracara lutosus	Eggs/Nests
Isla Guadalupe	A. W. Anthony	CM	September 20, 1896 1927	CM-P20696	Caracara plancus lutosus	Birds

Isla Guadalupe A. W. Anthony CM September 20, 1896 1927 CM-P20696 Caracara plancus lutosus Birds