THE GALAPAGOS

June/July 2005

Mark Beaman

No it wasn't the fact we saw all 33 Galápagos endemics and near-endemics (based on the latest taxonomic changes) or that we recorded 70 species in total (a really good figure for June/July), that made this journey so special. It was the amazing creatures of the Galápagos, and their complete lack of fear of humans that made it such a magical experience and allowed us such an intimate encounter with some of the most fascinating birds, mammals and reptiles (not to mention fish!) on our wonderful planet.

But before we could reach the ‘lost world' of the islands we had a long journey to face, broken by   a stroll around Guayaquil's cathedral square where Groove-billed Ani, Grey-cheeked Parakeet, Pacific Hornero, Tropical Kingbird, Grey-breasted Martin, Blue-grey Tanager, Scrub Blackbird and Great-tailed Grackle, not to mention Guayaquil Squirrels and some enormous arboreal Green Iguanas, enlivened our short stopover. Eventually we were dropping down towards the island of San Cristóbal (or Chatham), the most southeasterly of the Galápagos Islands, a white cap of cloud shrouding the highlands, and our ‘real' adventure was about to begin.

After enduring the rather lengthy customs and immigration procedure, including the purchase of the expensive national park stamp, and after meeting our guide Juan-Carlos, we were out of the terminal and into our bus for the short journey to the harbour of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, the tiny ‘capital' of the Galápagos (and nowadays dwarfed by burgeoning Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz). From there it was just a short hop by zodiac (wearing those red life jackets for the first of many times) to our home for the next two weeks, the lovely Rachel III , a two-masted ocean-going yacht. We barely had time for a quick orientation and a chance to stow away our luggage in our cabins (yes, small but nicely put together) before lunch was served and then it was back into the zodiac and Coracito was whisking us back to the pier for a bus trip into the interior. Even the harbour here produced a selection of seabirds including Elliot's and Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels, Magnificent Frigatebird, Blue-footed Booby and Brown Pelican, not to mention our first Marine Iguanas.

San Cristóbal, like the other inhabited islands in the Galápagos, has been much modified by man, but even so considerable amounts of native vegetation remain. At El Junco the scrub turned up our first Dusky Warbler Finches, a recent split from (Olive) Warbler Finch, and the fog-shrouded lagoon produced Cattle Egret, White-cheeked Pintail, Common Moorhen, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-necked Stilt and Semipalmated Plover. The scrub, woodland and pastures at lower altitudes held introduced Smooth-billed Anis, Large-billed Flycatcher, many rather inquisitive Chatham Mockingbirds and numerous Darwin's finches. Amongst the many Small and Medium Ground-Finches we came across small numbers of Large and Small Tree-Finches, as well as one of the highlights of the afternoon, two Vegetarian Finches.

An overnight sail brought us far to the northwest, to the island of Seymour (also known as North Seymour). As we left the Rachel III before sunrise Elliot's Storm-Petrels were all around the boat, dancing daintily across the water surface and numerous Galápagos Shearwaters streamed past. As soon as we stepped ashore it was obvious this was the ‘real' Galápagos. In the first place the noisy Galápagos Sea-Lions had to be ‘persuaded' to leave the pier area to allow us ashore, and indeed some nursing mothers proved unmoveable, so we stepped carefully past them as they and their pups gazed up at us with those liquid black eyes. Secondly, none of the birds flew away as we approached, and indeed they generally seemed quite unconcerned, or at most mildly annoyed, that we were walking through their nesting places. Along the rocky shoreline, Lava Herons and American Oystercatchers foraged and spectacular Swallow-tailed Gulls, Lava Gulls and Brown Noddies watched our progress, as did a rather forlorn young Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. All along the nature trail Blue-footed Boobies were nesting, often right on the trail itself, and we were treated to some fantastic display sequences as the males held out their wings in an improbable-looking side on posture while pointing their bills skywards and whistling as if they were well and truly hoarse. In some areas large numbers of Great Frigatebirds were nesting amongst the bushes and many of the males were giving their spectacular displays, inflating their crimson gular pouches, uttering their strange trilling cries and waggling their outstretched wings to try and attract females. As with the boobies, they were so close and so fearless that one could easily touch them. Further along the trail we came across three big yellow-orange Land Iguanas lumbering amongst the bushes and cacti. As usual they were utterly unconcerned by our presence and one could photograph these prehistoric-looking creatures from just a few centimetres away. Even the little Galápagos Doves were utterly fearless.

Since we had a whole fortnight on our boat we were able to indulge those seabird passions and sail by daylight up to Genovesa (or Tower) island, and it proved a good move indeed, turning up not only two Bryde's Whales, numerous smart Galápagos Petrels, a large number of Madeiran Storm-Petrels, our first Red-billed Tropicbirds and our first Nazca (not counting a juvenile at Seymour) and Red-footed Boobies, but also some rarities in the form of a Pink-footed Shearwater and no less than three encounters with White-faced Storm-Petrel.

As dawn broke we emerged on deck to find ourselves anchored in the flooded caldera of Genovesa, the low rocky cliffs of the caldera almost surrounding us. Red-footed Boobies were everywhere, with an occasional white morph bird amongst the many browns. After breakfast we headed for Prince Philip's steps, a narrow rocky ‘staircase' up onto the plateau of Genovesa, en route to fabulous El Barranco. Our first nesting Red-footed Boobies were encountered in the scrub along the way, but we were anxious to press on and enjoy El Barranco before any other visitors reached the area. We were not to be disappointed in this strategy as we had this extraordinary place to ourselves for the first hour or more, watching several thousand Wedge-tailed Storm-Petrels swooping backwards and forwards over the colony or hovering over the lava rocks before disappearing into their breeding holes. How weird and wonderful it was to be watching a storm-petrel colony alive with activity in broad daylight! Also here were numerous nesting Nazca Boobies, surely the most spectacular of the Galápagos boobies with their striking black and white pattern and pink-orange and yellow bills. Their displays were just as spectacular as those of the Blue-footeds, complete with wing spreading and sky-pointing. Even the finches were mostly new here, including both the spectacular Large Ground-Finch (what a bill!) and Sharp-beaked Ground-Finch, while we also came across our first very tame Galápagos Mockingbirds. With so much new to see and enjoy it was very hard to drag ourselves away from this wonderful place for a well-earned lunch. In the afternoon we visited a densely-settled part of the Red-footed Booby colony, enjoying eyeball to eyeball encounters with these smaller cousins of the Nazcas and also coming across a mixture of Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds, more spectacular Swallow-tailed Gulls and so on. A major highlight of the walk was the three Large Cactus-Finches we found, appropriately enough, in a dense area of Opuntia cacti, while the beach turned up the first of a series of Wandering Tattlers.

We had our first chance for a snorkel at Genovesa, getting to know such common Galápagos species as Razor Surgeonfish, Moorish Idol, Giant Damselfish, Panamic Sergeant Major, Blue-chin and Bicolour Parrotfishes, Mexican Hogfish, Giant Hawkfish and Guineafowl Puffer, and also encountering Diamond Stingray and the lovely Spotted Eagle Ray for the first time.

Our next port of call was the spectacular island of Bartolomé (or Bartholemew) with its famous pyramid rock. Here we paid an   early morning visit to a lonely beach where Galápagos Penguins and a Great Blue Heron put on a good performance and Marine Iguanas grazed the bright green algae on the rocks. Later we climbed one of the impressive volcanic cones, admiring the fantastic scenery of Bartolomé and nearby Santiago with its many colours – red-ochre, buff, brown and grey, contrasting with the blue sea and sky and the green vegetation. From Bartolomé we sailed on to Rábida (or Jervis) where the sealion-spattered beaches were a deep red colour and the fringing mangroves held an impressive colony of fearless Brown Pelicans that one could walk right up to and admire.

Next morning saw us exploring the still waters of Caleta Tortuga Negra on the northern coast of Santa Cruz (or Indefatigable). As we cruised along the mangrove channels we enjoyed a dramatic encounter with large numbers of bathing Blue-footed Boobies, came across a couple of Great Egrets, a Striated Heron and a Grey Plover, and watched the local Brown Pelicans being pestered by Brown Noddies that perched on their backs or even   their heads every time they surfaced, hoping to snap up a titbit! With great persistence Juan Carlos managed to persuade the zodiac to pass through a narrow channel where White-tipped Reef Sharks were lurking and then into some peaceful backwaters where the clear waters allowed us to have fantastic views of schools of juvenile Spotted Eagle Rays and Golden Cowrays gliding by, while juvenile Blacktip Sharks waited in the shallows in the hope of a meal.

In the afternoon we were lucky enough to explore Daphne Mayor (or Daphne Major), an island made famous by the long term research projects on Darwin's finches and now only open to a total of 16 visitors every month! The landing is by no means easy, but most of us scrambled ashore and we then headed up the steep path towards the caldera. Smoothtail Mobulas (a much smaller version of the huge Manta Ray) could be seen somersaulting offshore and Red-billed Tropicbirds flew right by us en route to their nests in rocky crevices on the slopes of the island. The huge-billed Large Ground-Finch was almost common here and we also came across our first Common Cactus-Finches, in the cacti of course. Up at the caldera we admired the spectacular view and the nesting Nazca Boobies and mixed colony of Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds.

An early landing at Puerto Egas on Santiago (or James) gave us some fantastic views of Galápagos Hawk, although the little Galapagos Scorpion under a rock and the doleful Galápagos Fur Seals that we could sit right next to were also highlights! We also encountered the only Sanderling of the voyage. It was fascinating to see how the advance of the dry season had already prompted the Palo Santo trees in the lowlands of Santiago to lose their leaves, while higher up in the hills all were still green. From Santiago we sailed across to northern Isabela (or Albemarle), an excellent run for seabirds and also notable for a big school of Indo-Pacific Bonito jumping clear of the water as they pursued their prey. By dusk we were off the towering cliffs of San Vicente Roca, surely one of the wildest spots in the Galápagos.

A dawn zodiac ride here produced some more views of morose-looking Galápagos Penguins and, more importantly, our first Flightless Cormorants, while a snorkel session was memorable for the fact the water was hundreds of metres deep (definitely no good for folk afraid to be out of their depth!) and the great views of Galápagos Sea-Lions, Green Turtles, brightly-coloured Harlequin Wrasse and thousands of Black-striped Salemas. As we crossed to Fernandina (or Narborough) we were treated to a fantastic encounter with 50 Short-finned Pilot Whales that seemed to positively relish staying around the yacht (Juan-Carlos and I even went snorkelling with them, 20 nautical miles offshore!), while other highlights included a Humpback Whale for some of us.

Fernandina was definitely one of the trip highlights and well worth the effort to reach. The Marine Iguana spectacle alone made all the sailing worthwhile. They were everywhere (indeed it was difficult to avoid standing on them as many were sunning themselves on the nature trail). Great heaps of them were massed in some areas, with smaller individuals on top of larger ones, or voice versa, and we greatly enjoyed creeping up on them (although we probably need not have bothered being stealthy) and photographing their primeval faces, complete with strange whitish, barnacle-like protrusions on their crowns. The Flightless Cormorant colony was another feature of the area and as usual we could get very close to these strange birds with their stumpy little ‘wings'.

Next morning saw us nervously disembarking from the zodiac on the west coast of Isabela, nervous that is because our only chance of the rare and endangered Mangrove Finch stared us in the face, and some folk miss this one. Mercifully, prayers to Orni proved successful and we had only spent a relatively short time at the mangroves when the first Mangrove Finch appeared, and then two more at very close range. Hallelujah! We were still on target for a clean-up! After a short visit to scenic Caleta Tagus we were heading south along the western coast of Isabela, stopping to watch a feeding frenzy of Blue-footed Boobies and to admire our first Waved Albatrosses, a dozen Common Bottle-nosed Dolphins and several more Bryde's Whales. A brief landing produced no less than seven Galapagos Martins, a very patchily-distributed bird in the islands and then it was on around the southwestern corner of Isabela to Puerto Villamil, but not before thousands more seabirds came our way (including for some, a lone Sooty Shearwater), as did two Whale Sharks, a fantastic school of 150 Short-beaked Common Dolphins and yet more Bryde's Whales.

A nocturnal shore excursion allowed us to sample the bars of this tiny town, but the main purpose was to sort out our excursion to Volcan Sierra Negra on the morrow. This proved quite an adventure. First we headed up into the hills by vehicle, stopping for our first Galápagos Vermilion Flycatchers and Woodpecker Finches along the way. Then came the horse-riding bit, which appealed to most (although not being a fan of birding from horseback, I walked) and finally the walking part as we headed on to the fumaroles of Volcan Chico where sulphurous fumes issued from strangely-covered holes amidst the cinder-cones. The views across the vast caldera of Sierra Negra and then down across western Isabella, with the distant cones of the northern volcanoes in the background was truly awesome. From a birding viewpoint the highlights were undoubtedly the 12 Galapagos Martins we saw that morning, not to mention four Dark-billed Cuckoos, a number of Olive Warbler Finches and three more Vegetarian Finches (the latter a reward for my foot-slogging).

Bustling Puerto Ayora was not exactly a pleasant change from the ‘out-islands' and indeed Santa Cruz was a bit of an anti-climax. Here we were in a place that seemed a world away from Fernandina or Genovesa, complete with traffic, shops, hotels, crowds of people and boats, farms and all the rest of the paraphernalia that goes with human settlement. Still the island still has some good birding and we were soon out there exploring. Our first attempt for Galapagos Rail was a bit of a mixed result, with some getting good views and others not (and the constant drizzle did not help), but we had much more success with Paint-billed Crake and Purple Gallinule at El Chato, not to mention the leviathan-sized Galápagos Giant Tortoises that lumbered past us or sat morosely in the shallows. We also visited the limestone sinkholes at Los Gemellos, which were impressively huge, and finally tracked down Galápagos Barn Owl in a lava tube thanks to Juan-Carlos.

On our second attempt the rails behaved impeccably, indeed better than that as two crept around just a few metres from our feet, so after a visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station with its fascinating but rather sad ‘Lonesome George' (the last of the Pinta tortoises) we sailed up the east coast to Plaza Sur (or South Plaza), turning up an unexpected Kelp Gull and enjoying this really delightful island, which is truly a microcosm of the Galápagos.

After an overnight sail we were off the islet of Champion, near Floreana (or Charles), at sunrise, ready for our zodiac cruise in search of the endangered Charles Mockingbird. This proved surprisingly easy to see, although getting good views took more time! After some snorkeling sessions that produced lots of King Angelfish, Rainbow Runners, a big Wahoo, Pelican Barracudas, Amarillo Snappers, thousands of White Salemas, Pacific Creolefish, White-tripped Reef Sharks and many others, not to mention great underwater encounters with sealions, we visited the lagoon at Punta Cormorant with its American Flamingoes and the strange barrel ‘post office' at Post Office Bay. (Curiously we discovered that whilst all but the most recent European and Australasian post had been taken by volunteers to post when back home, in the time-honoured tradition, hundreds of letters and cards with American addresses were still there, some after many months!) In the afternoon we took the off-duty ‘school bus' (more like a truck), one of the only vehicles on Floreana, up into the highlands. Here we soon found Medium Tree-Finch, but also learned that Large Tree-Finches need some careful separation (those digital cameras are so useful!) and then visited the first ‘home' of the Wittmer family (some of Floreana's very ‘colourful' pioneer settlers), made by carving out the soft volcanic tufa. As the afternoon wore on we spent much time looking for Galapagos Short-eared Owl, but only John and Neil had a brief sighting. Then, when hope was ebbing away, our bus driver's assistant said he had seen an owl back along the road just a few days previously, so we jumped aboard and to our amazement and delight there one was sitting on a fence post! It was as tolerant as all Galápagos birds, letting us alight from the vehicle and closely approach without batting an eyelid.

Now there was just Española (or Hood) left, and just one more endemic. However, the latter, the Hood Mockingbird, for all its excessive tameness (to the point of pecking any exposed flesh!), was decidedly overshadowed by the true star attraction, the enormous Waved Albatross. The huge sealion colony and the fantastic Swallow-tailed Gull and Red-billed Tropicbird colonies along the cliffs were marvellous enough, but the albatrosses of Española stole the show. These huge birds were sitting around all over the place in the more open areas amongst the scrub and, of course, allowed us to sit right next to them as we stared into those oh-so-expressive eyes and admired those extraordinary beaks and strangely-ridged foreheads. It was wonderful to watch them displaying, either pairs or small groups, throwing their heads back and pointing their bills skywards as they uttered their strange cries. Ungainly on land, especially as they waddle-ran along the open ‘albatross runway', they were wonderfully graceful once airborne as they sailed along the cliffs. After admiring the famous blowholes, which can no longer be visited after some folk went a little too close and ended up drowned (!), we headed back across the island, stopping to admire some Large Cactus-Finches en route. After that we went sailing amongst the rafts of albatrosses offshore, even using the zodiac to get very close to one flock, and then set sail for San Cristóbal, our Galápagos journey almost at an end.

After a dawn sail around and indeed through the spectacular divided rock called Leon Dormido (also known as Kicker Rock), we sailed into Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, said goodbye to splendid Captain Fruko, the indefatigable Juan-Carlos and all the wonderful crew of Rachel III and headed for the airport. All that remained was our rapid and rather unwelcome transition to ‘civilization' in Guayaquil where we enjoyed a long and pleasant lunch and a visit to the Parque Historico, which at least produced some new birds, the best of which were Ecuadorian Ground-Dove, Pacific Parrotlet and Short-tailed Woodstar. Already the ‘Islas Encantadas' (the Enchanted Isles) were but a memory. But what a memory...