GALAPAGOS part 5: South Plaza and Santa Fe (15 May 2025)

Thursday 15 May 2025. SOUTH PLAZA. I was sorting yesterday’s photos before breakfast, the gulls and boobies were great but I was finding the finches confusing. An 08:00 departure for the small island of South Plaza. A dry landing right by a pair of Lava Gulls and into a scattered Swallow-tailed Gull colony was a brilliant start but South Plaza’s popularity had a downside. Since Bartolome it felt as if we were rubbing shoulders with 4-8 other boats at each stop compared to 1-3 during our first week. It was not surprising as even the shortest cruises visited the most popular destinations but walking a well-marked trail ten minutes behind one group and a similar time ahead of the next was a bit too orchestrated for my liking. The trail took us up to the cliffs on the southern side of the island, past 2 Common Cactus Finches to where the first Red-billed Tropicbirds of the trip were patrolling. Galapagos Shearwaters were flying up to the cliffs and we saw a large chick in a hole under some rocks. We continued on a triangular route and returned for more views of the Swallow-tailed Gulls by the landing. We were back on board the Chacalote Explorer at 10:15 and sailing south to Santa Fe where we arrived two hours later, encountering a pod of at least 50 Bottle-nosed Dolphins on the way. SANTA FE. We arrived off the Santa Fe coast soon after midday and after lunch the options were snorkeling or a panga ride from 14:00-15:00. Spotted Eagle Rays from the panga were impressive, but not very photogenic. At 16:00 we set off for a wet landing at Barrington Bay and walked a circuit through scrub and sea lions. We were back on board at 18:10. A nice day not having to worry too much about finches. Birds seen (on South Plaza unless stated otherwise) were 20 Galapagos Doves (Santa Fe), 3 Smooth-billed Anis, 60 Swallow-tailed and 2 Lava Gulls, 4 Brown Noddies, 8 Red-billed Tropicbirds, 5 Elliot’s Storm Petrels, 60 Galapagos Shearwaters, 30 Magnificent Frigatebirds, an immature Nazca and 8 Blue-footed Boobies, 3 Brown Pelicans, Galapagos Hawk (Santa Fe), 7 Galapagos Mockingbirds (Santa Fe), 2 Mangrove Warblers (1 Santa Fe), 10 Small Ground Finches and 4 Common Cactus Finches (2 Santa Fe).

Lava Gulls by the South Plaza landing

Swallow-tailed Gulls by the South Plaza landing

Swallow-tailed Gull with chick

Common Cactus Finch on South Plaza

one of the easier black finches to identify

South Plaza

Magnificent Frigatebird at South Plaza

Land Iguana on South Plaza

Chacalote Explorer off South Plaza

Red-billed Tropicbird over South Plaza

juvenile Nazca Booby over South Plaza, initially misidentified as a Brown Booby until I realised it had a white collar

Small Ground Finch on South Plaza - not all finches on cactus were Cactus Finches 

Swallow-tailed Gulls on the cliffs at South Plaza

Santa Cruz from South Plaza

Galapagos Shearwaters returning to the cliffs of South Plaza

Blue-footed Booby over South Plaza

Swallow-tailed Gull family by South Plaza landing

Bottle-nosed Dolphins between South Plaza and Santa Fe

Galapagos Sea Lions on Santa Fe

Galapagos Doves on Santa Fe

young Santa Fe Land Iguana, only found on Santa Fe

Blue-footed Booby on Santa Fe

male Common Cactus Finch on Santa Fe

presumed juvenile Common Cactus Finch on Santa Fe

female Small Ground Finch on Santa Fe

Mangrove Warbler on Santa Fe

Galapagos Mockingbird on Santa Fe

Santa Fe beach party