Galapagos Archipelago Dec. 1-8, 2006: Baltra, Santa Cruz, Santiago, Bartolome, Genovesa, Plaza, Santa Fe, Espanola,  Floreana and North Seymour

 

 

 

By Roger Wolfe

 

Dec. 1

Upon arrival at the Baltra Airport in the mid afternoon we spotted our first new bird as we walked across the runway from the jet to the terminal. Two endemic GALAPAGOS DOVES were perched on the side of the building. After passing through the national park inspection and paying our park fees we wait for our bus and there inside the terminal are our first Darwin’s Finches-small, all black males with no other distinguishing features to separate the majority of them other than bill size and as we all know size is relative.

 

We meet our young naturalist guide Esteban and he informs us that our boat-the Tip Top II is currently en route from being in dry dock in Guayaquil. Tonight we will be staying in a hotel in Punta Ayora on Santa Cruz Island and will board the boat the following day.

 

A ten minute bus ride takes us to the dock where we board the ferry for a short hop from Baltra to Santa Cruz Island. It’s a five minute ride at the most. In that I work on pelagic birding trips out of Monterey, California. I’m in the habit of shouting out birds as they pass by, to my wife’s embarrassment. “He’s a birder,” she says assuming that is explanation enough for my erratic behavior.

 

I call out “BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY,” and the others in our group look up. “ I can’t see any blue feet.” Then a BLACK NODDY flies by and from a patch of mangroves comes a LAVA HERON. Of course the whole time there is a swarm of MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRDS gliding overhead like big kites. These will be our constant companions during our time at sea.

 

On board our next bus we pass through a dry scrubby landscape that eventually gives way to lush green pastures and farmlands as we draw nearer to the town and main population center of the islands; Punta Ayora. “What are those white birds in the pasture?” someone asks. CATTLE EGRETS, but are those boulders on the far side of the pasture? Nope, those are our first GALAPAGOS TORTOISES!

 

The Hotel Silberstein is  nice and I think all of us are a bit surprised by just how bustling the town of Punta Ayora is. I guess my image of the Galapagos was of pristine, untrammeled islands. Ninety percent of the island’s human population of 18,000 live here at Punta Ayora. Farms, fishing and tourism drive the local economy.

 

After settling into our rooms and grabbing a quick siesta our group ambles down the main road to the nearby Galapagos National Park Visitor Center outside of which we have our first close encounter with a GALAPAGOS MOCKINGBIRD and a LAVA LIZARD.

 

From there we continue down the road to the Darwin Research Center. Along the way we find our first GALAPAGOS FLYCATCHER and some introduced SMOOTH-BILLED ANIS. A finch flies into the bush as we pass by so I decide to test our guide. “Which finch is that?” Esteban shakes his head, “These little finches are REALLY HARD to tell apart,” he says. “My advice is to take pictures now and compare them to the illustrations in the book later.”  I snap a few shots of a female bird that I later determine to be a LARGE TREE FINCH.

 

(I found the best resource for identifying the Darwin’s Finches were the illustrations in the book Wildlife of the Galapagos by Fitter, Fitter and Hosking, Princeton University Press, 2002)

 

At the Darwin Research Station we observe the breeding facilities for the Galapagos Tortoises and see Lonesome George who is thought to be the only remaining tortoise endemic to the island of Pinta. We get up close to some of the tortoises and one of the Galapagos subspecies of YELLOW WARBLER gets close to us. Their vocalizations sound very different than from what I’m used to hearing back home.

 

Outside the tourist kiosk I snap photos of a pair of finches atop a cactus and later conclude they are COMMON CACTUS FINCHES. Inside the kiosk they are selling a bunch of Darwin stuff. Come on, the guy was only here for three weeks! Personally I think they should name this place the Rollo Beck Research Center, he made four trips to these islands for several months each and it was his collection that really proved Darwin’s hypothesis or to be more accurate Alfred Russel Wallace’s, but I digress.

 

Our group returns to the hotel but my wife Laura and I take a walk through town. At the fish cleaning station we find a begging endemic LAVA GULL and watch BROWN PELICANS dive into the harbor. Punta Ayora is a very pleasant little town.

 

Dec. 2

 

Laura and I are up early to get in a walk before breakfast. We walk back toward the Darwin Research Center and find a path leading down to a small beach. In the midst of the moored boats I’m surprised to see a few storm-petrels flitting about but they are too distant for a positive identification.

 

We walk out on the boat ramp near the center and walk out through the mangroves to the end. A BROWN PELICAN preens atop a mangrove, in the roots we hear a cry and find a LAVA HERON, more YELLOW WARBLERS and our first MARINE IGUANAS are lounging here and unperturbed by our presence. ( We nearly stepped on them!)

 

On the way back to the hotel we find a pair of finches feeding in the middle of the road and take photos of the SMALL GROUND FINCH.

 

Following breakfast we board the bus for a ride into the highlands of Santa Cruz. Esteban stops the bus and excitedly declares that he has spotted a male VERMILION FLYCATCHER and tells us that this is perhaps the most beautiful of the endemic species but in his book Galapagos: A Natural History John Kricher he writes:

 

“This species is widely spread from the southwestern United States to the southern regions of South America and inhabits open areas with scattered trees. The Galapagos population is thought by some to deserve status as a separate species, while other taxonomists classify it as a separate subspecies, Pyrocephalus rubinus nanus.”

 

Esteban seems surprised that I’m not as thrilled as he is.

 

We explore some collapsed lava tubes and hike through one that is illuminated inside and then we’re off to a nearby farm where we find lots of domed GALAPAGOS TORTOISES. In one area we find several of them in a wallow and here we also see a pair of WHITE-CHEEKED PINTAILS.

 

That’s about it for birds this day. Later we check out of the hotel and board the Zodiacs that deliver us to the Tip Top II. In the night after everyone is in their comfortable, air conditioned cabins the engine starts and the anchor chain goes up. We’re underway.

 

Dec. 3 Santiago/Bartholome

 

We travel all night. At first light I head up to the observation deck atop the cabins. The sky is overcast as it will be almost the entire time. We’re still en route. I can see Santiago in the near distance. The next thing I see is a seabird moving over the water in a sine wave pattern, I lift the bins to my eyes to behold a GALAPAGOS (Dark-rumped) PETREL, the first of 5 seen that morning. A group of birds sitting on the water takes flight as we approach and these are my first GALAPAGOS SHEARWATERS.

 

This particular morning would turn out to be the best for active seabirding while the boat was underway. This was due largely to the fact that almost all of our travel from one island to the next would take place under the cover of darkness. Good for having more time onshore not so good for the pelagic enthusiast.

 

When the Tip Top II pulled into Santiago and dropped anchor I finally get some fantastic looks at the ELLIOT’S STORM-PETRELS.  I had been seeing them throughout the morning but now that we were parked they flew right up to the boat. The boat crews call them bilge birds because they take a great interest in whatever is being pumped out of the hold.

 

 

 

 

Elliot’s Storm-petrel

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we board the pangas (zodiacs) for a wet beach landing on Santiago. Above the beach a GALAPAGOS HAWK is perched. On this beach and every other one we will visit are very tame CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS that are completely unperturbed by our presence.

 

 In the course of a short walk over a pahoehoe lava field beside the sea we find more new birds, animals and reptiles. In the tidepools both LAVA and STRIATED HERON are actively fishing. MARINE IGUANAS are both sunning and swimming. A PACIFIC-GREEN TURTLE surfaces right below us in a large hole the sea has carved in the lava. In this same area a small group of GALAPAGOS FUR SEALS are wedged into crevices.

 

On the shoreline we spot a WANDERING TATTLER and some RUDDY TURNSTONES and see many BROWN NODDY flying just offshore along with our first NAZCA BOOBY.

 

We then return to the boat to don our snorkeling gear before returning to dive from the panga just off the beach. The water temp on my watch reads 75F. There is an incredible array of colorful fish. The sea lions are quite playful, zooming up into my mask and swimming circles around me. I feel lame in comparison to their speed and elegance in the water. We find a PACIFIC GREEN SEA TURTLE grazing on the bottom and spend some quality time observing it.

 

Back on board we travel along the steep cliffs of Santiago and it is here I see the first RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD soar by and another GALAPAGOS PETREL. We pull into a sheltered cove between Isla Santiago and Isla Bartolome. This is the archetypal landscape scene of the Galapagos with Pinnacle Rock pointing skyward in the middle of the cove. This is a scene right out of the movie Master and Commander.

 

After landing on the beach we cross over a narrow isthmus to the other side of the island and as we are observing a shark in the shallows up pops our first GALAPAGOS PENGUIN. We get a brief look and then it is gone, very unsatisfactory. We don our snorkels, masks, fins and wetsuits and I kick around Pinnacle Rock in search of more penguins to no avail.

 

Our final activity for the day is a panga ride around Pinnacle Rock where deep inside the cove we find another penguin lying out on the lava. It allows us a fairly close approach and a very satisfactory look. We make a rocky landing on Bartoleme and climb up the wood boardwalk and steps to the summit where to enjoy the fantastic view looking out over the cove. The sunset behind Pinnacle Rock is unforgettable.

 

Dec. 4 Genovesa

 

The Tip Top II motors through the night, crosses over the Equator and we pull into Darwin Bay (he never visited this island) just before dawn.  This bay is actually the center of an inactive volcanic caldera. When it gets light enough out I head up to the observation deck on the top of the boat. As I step outside the cabin I am greeted by the din of seabird cries.

 

SWALLOW-TAILED GULLS are all over the steep cliffs near our anchorage. RED-BILLED TROPICBIRDS vocalize as they fly over my head. NAZCA BOOBY are everywhere as are RED-FOOTED BOOBY. Flocks of GALAPAGOS SHEARWATER go arcing by brushing the cliffs. This island is a seabird paradise!

 

A single MADEIRAN STORM-PETREL veers by.

 

I am chomping at the bit to go ashore. We make a wet landing on Darwin Beach and find ourselves surrounded by nesting birds and their chicks. We can walk right up to them and they show no fear or irritation. What a photo opportunity! SWALLOW-TAILED GULLS and NAZCA BOOBIES are ground nesters. Up in the mangroves are the nests of RED-FOOTED BOOBY (both color phases) and GREAT FRIGATEBIRDS.

 

A small bird foraging over the lava is the easily discerned WARBLER FINCH. We are surprised at how small the Marine Iguanas are on this island.

 

We then do a bit of snorkeling off the beach where our guide Esteban manages to get attacked by a giant Spiny Lobster that he has pulled out of a hole. He looks as though he’s fallen in a rose bush.

 

After lunch we board the pangas again and cruise along the cliffs to observe RED-BILLED TROPICBIRDS nesting in small caves. For the first and only time of our trip the cloud cover lifts and we get a taste of just how intense the equatorial sun can be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red-billed Tropicbirds

 

 

We make a rocky dry landing at Prince Philip’s steps and climb up to the top of the caldera into a forest of Palo Santo trees. There is a lot of booby vocalizing going enabling us to distinguish the males from females.

 

We pass by some foraging GALAPAGOS DOVES on the ground. Further on we look out over the volcanic landscape that is scattered with Nazca Boobies and veering just over the cliff edge are a few MADEIRAN STORM-PETRELS. I had so looked forward to coming here to see (and smell) the massive flock of nesting Wedge-rumped Storm-petrels I had heard so much about but there is not a single one to be found. Thus we don’t see the local subspecies of Short-eared Owls that prey on them either.

 

We depart the tricky channel out of the caldera late in the day and travel much of the night.

 

Dec. 5 South Plaza/Santa Fe

 

South Plaza is a tiny islet just off of Santa Cruz. The morning is alive with the cries of seabirds. We watch a group of Magnificent Frigatebirds picking at something on the ground without landing. They fly away with long stringy pieces of flesh. There is a female sea lion in their midst and we deduce she must have just given birth and the birds are after the placenta.

 

Swallow-tailed Gulls are also making a ruckus as they mob a GREAT BLUE HERON to protect their nestlings. Plaza has a large population of Land Iguanas and there are sea lions hauled out all over the islet that abounds with Opuntia cactus. There are places where the rocks are polished smooth from the sea lions dragging themselves over the stone for eons.

 

From atop the sheer cliff on one side of the island we watch Galapagos Shearwaters arcing in the wind. I see one disappear into a hole and within seconds another departs, must be nesting

 

We leave Plaza after our walk. I’m happy to be traveling by day so I can look for cetaceans and seabirds. I do spot another Galapagos Petrel and we also come upon a huge pod of offshore type BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS. Magnificent Frigatebirds come remarkably close to the boat and we see plenty of Nazcza Boobies, Elliot’s Storm-petrels and Galapagos Shearwaters.

 

Upon arrival at Santa Fe we don our snorkeling gear and see three different species of stingrays. Sea lions are very playful here swimming circles around us and nibbling at our fins.

 

There are sea lions piled on top of one another at the beach where we make a wet landing. The unique feature of this island are the pale, yellow Land Iguanas that are endemic. We manage to find several during our walk.

 

We travel again under the cover of night.

 

Dec. 6

Early in the morning we arrive at Gardiner Bay on the island of Espanola. I’ve got my fingers crossed. Planning this trip I was concerned that we might arrive too late in the year and the albatrosses would be gone. I’ve been nervous about it the whole trip. I so want to see one.

 

But first we take the pangas over to the long stretch of white sand beach where we can stroll amidst the harems of sea lions. We are welcomed onshore by gregarious HOOD MOCKINGBIRDS endemic to this island. Esteban pulls out his water bottle and within minutes there are several mockingbirds gathered around the bottle begging for a drink.

Ah, but feeding the animals here is forbidden now. Along the beach we also find an AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER and a WANDERING TATTLER.

 

Afterwards we do a bit of snorkeling and find a WHITE-TIPPED REEF SHARK who appears to be sleeping on the bottom. This is the first time I’ve been in the water and had someone yell, “Shark!” and had everyone swim towards them. Unfortunately the visibility leaves something to be desired. The water temp reads 78 degree Fahrenheit.

 

 

 

The boat pulls out of Gardiner Bay and we travel over to the northwestern part of the island. The pangas take us to Punta Suarez where we have to tiptoe around sea lions in the path. A 1.5 mile hike takes us over to the southern side of the island.

 

Now comes the moment of truth, will the albatrosses still be present? There are lots of RED-BILLED TROPICBIRDS flying over our heads and nesting BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES on the ground. Esteban turns to me and says, “There are your albatross.”

 

Yahoo! There is a small group of WAVED ALBATROSS assembled and doing some bill clacking. It is comical they way they walk, deliberate but goofy with their heads swaying to and fro. One of them gets a running start and takes a short flight over to another assemblage. There appear to be a dozen of them present. We get some quality time with these birds until the group finally succeeds in dragging me away.

 

 

 

Waved Albatross

 

 

 

While the group is looking at booby chicks I head over to the albatross runway. This spot is clear of vegetation and is about 30 meters long ending with an abrupt drop off the cliffs into the sea. The view from this southern end of the island is a very special one. I gaze out over the heads of the reddish colored ESPANOLA MARINE IGUANAS and out to sea knowing there is nothing but ocean stretching out before me. A single Waved Albatross soars by and adds to the sense of expanse. This is a very special place here on the oldest island in the archipelago.

 

Back on board the Tip Top II we travel through the night.

 

Dec. 7

 

Before dawn we hear the now familiar sound of the anchor chain and know we have arrived at Floreana. A pair of FRANKLIN’S GULLS is sighted just after sunrise. After breakfast we board the pangas to explore Punta Cormoran and succeed in finding some more GALAPAGOS PENGUINS. We then make the obligatory stop at Post Office Bay where some in our group pick up postcards to hand deliver back home. We drop some off as well.

 

Afterwards some of us go snorkeling around the Devil’s Crown. Off the pangas we go being pulled by the current. We pass over a school of a dozen WHITE-TIPPED REEF SHARKS. The current propels us around the Crown which is a small volcanic caldera that is hollowed out in the center. I manage to kick into this hollow and the snorkeling here is perhaps the best I’ve ever experienced. Inside the crown is a gigantic school of juvenile RED SNAPPER. I dive into their midst and they do not flee. The highlight is the huge PACIFIC GREEN SEA TURTLE that I swim with for fifteen minutes. The slow, methodic beat of his flippers, the way he swims like a bird flies fills me with a sense of grace that I will take home with me.

 

In the afternoon we take the pangas to the black sand beach and a short stroll through the mangroves brings us to a lovely lagoon laced with brilliant pink GREATER FLAMINGOS. There are also many WHITE-CHEEKED PINTAIL, BLACK-NECKED STILT, LEAST SANDPIPERS and a SEMIPALMATED PLOVER. As we walk past the lagoon to the other side of the island Esteban points out a VEGETARIAN FINCH.

 

We come to a beautiful white sand beach and see many stingrays and a dozen sea turtles in the clear water of the shallows here. Isla Floreana is a beauty.

 

Dec. 8

 

Our final day has come. Dawn finds us anchored off the small island of North Seymour just north of Baltra Island. The main attraction here is the colony of frigatebirds. Both Magnificent and Great nest here thus it presents the opportunity for comparison.

 

We find an active colony of MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRDS in a grove of Palo Santo trees and observe the males displaying their bright red gular sacs, inflated like balloons, to females passing overhead.

 

We also see a few of the land iguanas introduced from nearby Baltra where they were extirpated by the U.S. Armed Forces when they built the airstrip during World War II.

Towards the end of our walk I spot a storm-petrel flying nearby and realize that it is a WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL.

 

As we board the pangas to return to our ship one last time a BROWN NODDY, perched on the rocks, sees us off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Galapagos Shearwaters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on the Tip Top II we bid our fine crew goodbye and ride the pangas one last time to the dock near the airport for our flight to Guayaquil.

 

Boat: The Tip Top II was an excellent and comfortable vessel. The crew was very friendly and efficient. Our cabins very comfortable and air conditioned. I highly recommend it.  The fleet of Tip Tops is run by Rolf Wittmer who is descended from some of the original German settlers on the islands.  http://www.rwittmer.com/eng/index.asp

 

Additonal bird photos can be viewed at http://www.rwolfe.photosite.com/GalapagosBirds/

 

 

Species seen:

 

                           Groove-billed Ani                            Crotophaga sulcirostris

                           Galapagos Dove                              Zenaida galapagoensis

                           Wandering Tattler                            Tringa incana

                           Ruddy Turnstone                             Arenaria interpres

                           Sanderling                                        Calidris alba

                           American Oystercatcher                  Haematopus palliatus

                           Black-necked Stilt                            Himantopus mexicanus

                           Grey Plover                                     Pluvialis squatarola

                           Lava Gull                                         Larus fuliginosus

                           Franklin's Gull                                 Larus pipixcan

                           Swallow-tailed Gull                         Creagrus furcatus

                           Brown Noddy                                  Anous stolidus

                           Galapagos Hawk                              Buteo galapagoensis

                           Red-billed Tropicbird                      Phaethon aethereus

                           Blue-footed Booby                          Sula nebouxii

                           Nazca Booby                                   Sula granti

                           Red-footed Booby                           Sula sula

                           Great Blue Heron                             Ardea herodias

                           Cattle Egret                                      Bubulcus ibis

                           Striated Heron                                  Butorides striatus

                           Galapagos Heron                             Butorides sundevalli

                           Greater Flamingo                             Phoenicopterus ruber

                           Brown Pelican                                 Pelecanus occidentalis

                           Magnificent Frigatebird                    Fregata magnificens

                           Great Frigatebird                              Fregata minor

                           Galapagos Penguin                          Spheniscus mendiculus

                           Galapagos Petrel                              Pterodroma phaeopygia

                           Audubon's Shearwater                     Puffinus lherminieri

                           Waved Albatross                             Diomedea irrorata

                           Elliot’s Storm-Petrel                         Oceanites gracilis

                           Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel            Oceanodroma tethys

                           Madeiran Storm-Petrel                     Oceanodroma castro

                           Vermilion Flycatcher                       Pyrocephalus rubinus

                           Large-billed Flycatcher                    Myiarchus magnirostris

                           Galapagos Mockingbird                   Nesomimus parvulus

                           Hood Mockingbird                          Nesomimus macdonaldi

                           Yellow Warbler                               Dendroica petechia

                           Medium Ground-Finch                    Geospiza fortis

                           Small Ground-Finch                        Geospiza fuliginosa

                           Common Cactus-Finch                    Geospiza scandens

                           Warbler Finch                                  Certhidea olivacea

 

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