THE GALAPAGOS

June/July 2007

Derek Scott

Any visit to the Galapagos Islands, especially one including a week's cruising in one's own chartered motor yacht, is guaranteed to be a wonderful experience, and this year's tour was no exception. Our itinerary differed somewhat from earlier Birdquest tours in that we had a week on the three largest islands, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal and Isabela, before joining our motor yacht, the Samba, for a week's cruising amongst the outer isles. This change had been necessitated by a recent change in the national park regulations which now placed severe restrictions on the duration of cruises and number of sites that could be visited by any one vessel. If we were to see as many of the endemic birds as possible, we would have to ‘clean up' on the main islands before taking a cruise that could concentrate on the uninhabited outer islands and their less readily accessible endemics. This arrangement worked well, and the only thing that prevented us from seeing all of the endemic birds was the recent decision by the National Park Service to prohibit landings at the two sites where the extremely rare and declining Mangrove Finch is still known to occur. In the space of two weeks, we visited all six of the larger islands and four of the smaller islands, and saw virtually all of the resident birds, mammals and reptiles, plus a good cross section of the islands' more notable invertebrates and plant life. Our total bird list of 67 species was unexceptional (mid-summer is hardly a good time for most of the North American shorebirds that occur here in the northern winter), but we had no difficulty in finding 28 of the 29 endemic birds (only the Mangrove Finch, now out-of-bounds, eluded us), as well as ten of the eleven globally threatened species listed in the 2000 edition of BirdLife International's Threatened Birds of the World . Highlights included the wonderful time spent amongst the Waved Albatrosses on Española, close-up views of a Galapagos Rail in the cloud forest on Santa Cruz, magical encounters with a large group of Bryde's Whales in the Bolivar Channel, and, of course, a walk with those lumbering giants, the Galapagos Tortoises, at El Chato.

After a night in Guayaquil to recover from our long-haul flights, we took a morning flight to Baltra, the principal ‘gateway' to the Galapagos, where we met our guide for the next few days, and soon found our first of 13 Darwin's finches – the almost ubiquitous Small Ground-Finch – as well as several Galapagos Doves. A short bus ride brought us to the narrow Itabaca Channel separating Baltra from the main island of Santa Cruz, and during the short ferry crossing we spotted our first seabirds - Magnificent Frigatebirds, Blue-footed Boobies, Brown Pelicans and Brown Noddies. Then we boarded our bus and were heading up into the humid highlands of Santa Cruz. Our first stop was at Los Gemelos – two very impressive sink-holes in thick Scalesia forest. There were lots of finches about and these responded extremely well to ‘pishing'. The commonest species were Small and Medium Ground-Finches and Small Tree Finch, but we also found several Woodpecker Finches, a couple of Olive Warbler Finches and a single male Large Tree Finch that responded well to the tape recorder. Our short walk in the forest also produced another two Galapagos Doves, fleeting glimpses of a Dark-billed Cuckoo, cracking views of three striking male Galapagos Vermilion Flycatchers, and our first of countless Mangrove Warblers – a species that we were to see just about everywhere we went in the islands. From Los Gemelos, we moved a few kilometres downhill into the transitional zone around Santa Rosa. By now we were running a little late, but we were delayed even further by a small, dark rail that dashed across the road in front of us. This showed reasonably well before disappearing into the long grass, and proved to be the endemic Galapagos Rail – a very lucky find so early on in the proceedings. We eventually arrived at a small farm where lunch awaited us, and here we encountered our first Galapagos Giant Tortoises, lumbering around in the open woodland within sight of our picnic table. A short walk in the forest produced two Vegetarian Finches, a species that was to prove easy to find this year, as well as an extremely tame White-cheeked Pintail at a muddy pool, our first of many Large-billed Flycatchers and Galapagos Mockingbirds, and a Common Cactus-Finch (our eighth Darwin's finch of the day). After a short walk in an old lava tube, we left the highlands and drove down to Puerto Ayora, where we checked into our luxurious hotel on the shores of Academy Bay. The birding from the hotel was great, and we rounded off the day with extremely close views of about 20 Brown Pelicans, a Great Blue Heron, a couple of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons and several Lava Gulls.

After more great views of Lava Gulls over our breakfast table the next morning, we boarded our bus and set off for another day in the highlands of Santa Cruz. A thirty-minute ride up into the hills and a short walk brought us into the humid Miconia zone at Media Luna. Our main target here was the Galapagos Rail, which remains relatively common in this habitat. Although we had already seen one, we were hoping for much better views. This year, however, the birds were proving to be very elusive, and it was not until we were on our way back down the hill that one bird deigned to show itself in the undergrowth. There were rather few other birds in this habitat apart from a Short-eared Owl that soared overhead and a few Large-billed Flycatchers and Olive Warbler Finches, but as we walked back down into the transitional forest, we came across many more finches, including another Vegetarian Finch and two more Woodpecker Finches. After lunch at another farm near Santa Rosa, we headed on down to the El Chato Tortoise Reserve, stopping on the way for great views of a Dark-billed Cuckoo and another Short-eared Owl. There were plenty of wild tortoises about, including some real giants, and at the small pond in the reserve we found about 30 White-cheeked Pintails along with a few Cattle Egrets, 12 Common Gallinules and four Purple Gallinules. Later, as we drove back to Puerto Ayora, we followed our guide's suggestion and called in at another farm where we were delighted to find a Galapagos Barn Owl at its day roost on a bar stool in the basement.  

Next morning, a bus ride over the island brought us back to Baltra airport from where it was only a thirty-minute flight in a light aircraft to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the administrative capital of the Galapagos near the western end of San Cristóbal. After checking in at our little hotel near the waterfront, we headed off into the forest in search of the special bird of this island - the endemic Chatham Mockingbird. As always, the bird proved easy; we found several very responsive birds at our first stop, along with a good selection of finches including a Vegetarian Finch, two Woodpecker Finches of the local striatipectus race and several Dusky Warbler Finches (recently split from Olive Warbler Finch). The highlands were enveloped in thick mist, so we gave the crater lake at El Junco a miss. Instead, we visited the Giant Tortoise enclosure at Galapaguera de Serra Colorado in the lowlands, where we found more Chatham Mockingbirds amongst the captive tortoises of the local race chatamensis . Back in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno that afternoon, we had plenty of time for a stroll around the harbour, where we found a Lava Heron and a Striated Heron, another Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, several Lava Gulls and a huge concentration of Californian Sea-Lions. Galapagos Petrels were passing far out at sea, and there were a few Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels amongst the many Elliot's Storm-Petrels in the harbour.

After an early breakfast the next morning, we proceeded down to the harbour for the first of the day's two journeys on inter-island ferries. This morning's crossing was back to Puerto Ayora, on Santa Cruz. Serious sea-watching was impossible from the fast-moving boat, but we did see large numbers of Galapagos Shearwaters, quite a few Galapagos Petrels, several distant Waved Albatrosses, a few Red-billed Tropicbirds and Nazca Boobies, and a school of at least twenty Bottle-nosed Dolphins that fooled around in our bow wave for a while. After three hours of bouncing along at high speed, we arrived safely in Puerto Ayora where we had time for a leisurely lunch before continuing on by the same ferry to Puerto Villamil at the south end of Isabela – much the largest island in the archipelago. This boat journey was, if anything, even rougher than the first and very nearly ended in disaster as the captain seemed unable to find the entrance to the harbour. It was late afternoon when we finally stepped ashore, and by the time we had sorted out our accommodation in this sleepy little town, it was too late for any birding.

Next morning we all climbed into a pick-up truck for a 20 km drive to the upper slopes of Volcan Sierra Negra – one of the five great shield volcanoes on Isabela, and at 1,490m the second highest mountain in the islands. Up at the end of the road, we transferred to horses for the short ride up to the crater rim. It was thick mist and drizzling as we began our ride, but as we approached the crater rim the cloud began to clear, and suddenly we were enjoying breathtaking views over the vast caldera towards Bahia Elizabeth and the great volcanoes of Alcedo, Darwin and Wolf away to the north. And as the cloud cleared and the sun came out, we could begin to appreciate the birds – first a Galapagos Hawk hovering in the updrafts along the crater rim, then several Dark-billed Cuckoos and finally our main target up here – three Galapagos Martins. A short walk took us down to Volcan Chico where sulphurous fumes issued from holes amidst the cinder cones, and then after a simple picnic lunch, we mounted up for the ride back to the truck. A stop in the transitional forest on the drive down the mountain produced three more Vegetarian Finches and two Woodpecker Finches along with more Olive Warbler Finches, while a stop in the cactus zone in the arid lowlands produced four very obliging Common Cactus-Finches. We arrived back in Puerto Villamil with plenty of time to check out the saline lagoons on the outskirts of town, and here we found five   American Flamingos and 12 Black-necked Stilts, while along the adjacent shore there was an assortment of waders including Hudsonian Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, American Oystercatcher, Black-bellied (Grey) Plover and Semipalmated Plover.

We had an early start the next morning for our final high-speed ferry back to Puerto Ayora. The journey got off to a good start with a Royal Tern as we were leaving Puerto Villamil (presumably one of two seen by Ken and Patsy in this area the previous day), but there was little else of note other than a few Galapagos Petrels and a large concentration of Galapagos Shearwaters off the south coast of Santa Cruz. After a leisurely lunch in town, we made the short pilgrimage to the Charles Darwin Research Station to look at the Giant Tortoise enclosures and learn something about the many conservation initiatives undertaken by the station in conjunction with the Galapagos National Park Service. There were plenty of birds about in the extensive grounds of the Research Station, and here at last we found our first Large Ground-Finches along with more Common Cactus-Finches.

Early next morning, we boarded the bus for one last journey across Santa Cruz to the Itabaca Channel and Baltra airport, where we were to meet up with the Park Naturalist Guide, Santiago, who would accompany us throughout our week's cruise. It was only a short bus ride from the airport to the harbour, and we were soon onboard the motor yacht ‘Samba' that was to be our home for the next seven days. After a quick trip round to the Itabaca Channel to pick up more supplies, we finally headed out to sea in the early afternoon, and within an hour had reached North Seymour where we were to make our first landing. This proved to be one of our most difficult landings, as there was a strong breeze blowing and a nasty swell, but all went well and we were soon strolling leisurely through the large breeding colonies of Blue-footed Boobies and Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds – the main attraction on this island. The breeding season was in full swing; many of the boobies already had small chicks, while some were still on eggs and others were displaying. There was also a great deal of activity amongst the frigatebirds, and we had many opportunities to compare these two very similar species side by side, and to admire their elaborate displays. Here also we found a dark-phase Red-footed Booby – an unusual bird on North Seymour – and had our first good views of Red-billed Tropicbirds and Swallow-tailed Gulls. There were a few Californian Sea-Lions and Marine Iguanas about, and we also came across six large Land Iguanas – introduced onto this island from Baltra. Back on board we rounded off the afternoon with the mandatory safety drill, and then after dinner we set sail for Santiago (James) Island.

When we awoke next morning, we were anchored off Puerto Egas at the west end of Santiago, and shortly after breakfast we went ashore. After admiring a fine Galapagos Hawk perched on a ruined building near the landing site, we walked out along the rocky shore to the headland, where we found three Galapagos Fur Seals resting amongst the rocks, as well as several Lava Herons, a couple of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, our first Wandering Tattlers and hundreds of Marine Iguanas. Later that morning, we cruised along the spectacular north coast of Santiago and rounded the east end of the island to drop anchor near the famous Pinnacle Rock at Bartolomé. Our landing that afternoon was at Bahia Sullivan on the east coast of Santiago. Here a nature trail took us out across bare lava floes only 100-200 years old, but as there was little to see other than a few pioneer cactuses and the odd insect we did not stay long. Instead, we took to the zodiac and headed across to the north coast of Bartolomé where we were able to approach closely to several Galapagos Penguins sunning themselves on the rocks.

Next morning found us at anchor off Genovesa (Tower), home to the world's largest colony of Red-footed Boobies. The sky was full of birds, as boobies and frigatebirds (here mainly Great) streamed by on their way to and from the nesting sites in the interior of the island, while Galapagos Shearwaters and Red-billed Tropicbirds patrolled the steep cliffs. Our first landing of the day was at Darwin Bay, where Swallow-tailed Gulls and Lava Gulls greeted us on the beach, and huge numbers of Red-footed Boobies and Great Frigatebirds were nesting in the mangroves. Amongst the Red-footed Boobies, birds of the brown phase make up about 90% of this population, but we soon found a few white-phase birds sitting precariously on their skimpy nests in the bushes. Darwin's finches were much in evidence, and it did not take us long to find the four species present on this island: Large Ground-Finch, Sharp-beaked Ground-Finch (here filling the niche of Small Ground-Finch which is absent from Genovesa), Large Cactus-Finch (of the small-billed race propinqua ) and Dusky Warbler Finch. Galapagos Doves, Galapagos Mockingbirds and Mangrove Warblers were common, and we also found a Lava Heron, five Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, a Wandering Tattler and a Ruddy Turnstone. After lunch, a zodiac ride across the bay and a short climb up Prince Philip's Steps brought us into a large mixed colony of Red-footed and Nazca Boobies. Crossing to the other side of the island, we eventually came to a huge colony of Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels on the cliff tops. These birds, unusual amongst storm-petrels in visiting the colony by day, were present in their thousands, darting backwards and forwards over the lava and occasionally alighting briefly on the surface before disappearing into their crevices. By mid-afternoon, we were back onboard and heading out to sea for the long voyage to the west coast of Isabela. This gave us our first real chance at sea-watching from the Samba, and produced good views of about a dozen Madeiran Storm-Petrels – a species that we were only ever to encounter well out at sea – as well as several more Galapagos Petrels.

As the sun rose the next morning, we found ourselves cruising down the Bolivar Channel between Isabela and Fernandina, one of the youngest and most volcanically active of the islands. As we cruised into Tagus Cove on the west coast of Isabela, we spotted our first small breeding colony of Flightless Cormorants, along with more Galapagos Penguins. We went ashore after breakfast, and had a very pleasant walk up past Darwin's Lake to a superb viewpoint on top of a spatter cone. Darwin's finches were plentiful here, and amongst them we found more Large Ground-Finches and a Woodpecker Finch that put on a splendid show as, in true textbook fashion, it used a small stick to extract an insect larva from a hole in a tree. Afterwards a zodiac cruise beneath the impressive cliffs allowed us to get very close to Flightless Cormorants and Galapagos Penguins, and gave us our best views yet of Brown Noddies on their nesting ledges. It was only a short voyage through the Bolivar Channel to our next landing site at Bahia Urbina, also on the west coast of Isabela. Here a walk in the strand woodland produced a dozen huge Land Iguanas, a Galapagos Hawk with a rat in its talons, a very obliging Dark-billed Cuckoo and two female Galapagos Vermilion Flycatchers. Later that evening we returned north through the Bolivar Channel to drop anchor off Punta Espinosa at the north-eastern tip of Fernandina.

Next morning we lost no time in going ashore at Punta Espinosa, and were soon enjoying close-up views of about 30 Flightless Cormorants at their breeding colony. There were hundreds of Marine Iguanas lazing around on the rocks, and about 15 Galapagos Penguins and numerous Green Turtles swimming about offshore. Lava Herons were common here, and we also found another Galapagos Hawk and two Wandering Tattlers. However, our landing at this great site was cut short when we spotted whales blowing way out in the channel. We hurried back to the Samba, and ten minutes later we were cruising quietly amongst them – a dozen or so huge Bryde's Whales. The whales seemed little bothered by our intrusion, at times surfacing lazily only metres away from the boat, and gave us a thoroughly wonderful show for well over half an hour. Then it was time to leave, as we had some way to go to reach our next landing site at Punta Moreno on the south-western coast of Isabela. Large rock pools near this landing site held two White-tipped Reef Sharks, a huge Marbled Ray and a colourful assortment of smaller fishes, and here also we found another good Striated Heron. Further inland, we came to a series of small brackish pools amongst the immense fields of bare lava, and here we found two Pied-billed Grebes, four American Flamingos and two Galapagos Martins. We were back onboard the Samba in time for dinner, and later that evening rounded the southern end of Isabela bound for Floreana.

Early the next morning found us rounding the northern end of Floreana and approaching the tiny island of Champion, one of only two small islands on which the endangered Charles Mockingbird still survives. Visitors are not allowed to land on the island, but we had no difficulty in spotting the mockingbirds from our zodiac, and we ended up getting very good views of several individuals. It was only a short distance from Champion to Punta Cormoran, at the northern tip of Floreana, and in mid-morning we landed there to visit a large saline lagoon where we had superb views of 16 American Flamingos along with 25 White-cheeked Pintails and two Black-necked Stilts. Another short cruise brought us to the little town of Puerto Velasco Ibarra on the western side of Floreana. Here we boarded an open-sided truck that serves as the local bus and drove a few kilometres up into the highlands, where we quickly found about ten Medium Tree Finches, a species confined to the island of Floreana, along with good numbers of Small Tree Finches. We then had plenty of time to visit the pirates' caves that had been used as temporary dwellings by some of the early settlers on Floreana, and to learn something of the intriguing history of this island.

We left Floreana just before sunset, and by sunrise the next morning we were at anchor off the island of Española (Hood), home to over 99% of the world's Waved Albatross population. We made our first landing at Punta Suarez, at the west end of the island. Within moments of stepping ashore, we were surrounded by inquisitive Hood Mockingbirds, and it did not take us long to find a few Large Cactus-Finches of the large-billed nominate race in the low scrub behind the beach. Here also we found a vagrant Cliff Swallow hawking over the headland. A short walk brought us to the edge of the Waved Albatross colony where we had a wonderful time watching these huge birds at their nest scrapes and cruising majestically overhead. Several pairs delighted us with their elaborate courtship displays, while others sat on eggs or sheltered tiny chicks. It was with some reluctance that we finally left the albatrosses and returned to the Samba, but there was one more landing in store – on the beach in Gardner Bay near the other end of the island. Here the star attractions were the Californian Sea-Lions, about 200 of them including several new-born pups. After a pleasant hour with the sea-lions, we finally said goodbye to Española and set sail for Santa Cruz. The sea-watching during the rest of the afternoon was particularly rewarding, producing not only a good crop of Waved Albatrosses and Galapagos Petrels, but another six Madeiran Storm-Petrels, a splendid White-faced Storm-Petrel, another Bryde's Whale, and a school of small whales which appeared to be either Melon-headed or Pygmy Killer Whales. As the sun set, we enjoyed a farewell cocktail with the Captain and his crew, and tucked into the last of our many superb dinners onboard.

Early the next morning, we had our final zodiac ride amongst the mangroves in Turtle Cove, on the north coast of Santa Cruz. Here, as the sun came up, we had one last hour in which to enjoy the rich diversity of these ‘enchanted isles'. Flocks of Cattle Egrets and a couple of Great Egrets flew up out of their roost in the mangroves; dozens of Brown Noddies circled low over the water and snatched little fish from the surface; and Green Turtles, White-tipped Reef Sharks and a White-spotted Eagle Ray passed by beneath us. But then, sadly, it was time to leave. Minutes later we were back on Baltra, saying farewell to the Samba and her friendly crew, and watching the ground-finches in the airport restaurant as we waited for our flight back to Guayaquil, at the start of the long journey home.