GALAPAGOS part 11: Santa Cruz, Antisana and home (21-23 May 2025)

Wednesday 21 May 2025. SANTA CRUZ. We arrived at Black Turtle Cove on the north coast of Santa Cruz during the night and had an hour pre-breakfast panga ride from 06:00 seeing rays and Blue-footed Boobies. I was panicking prior to departure as I couldn’t remember the safe place where I had put my passport while packing the previous evening. Turning everything out on my bed on our return revealed it was in a dry bag in the bottom of my shoulder bag all along, somewhere already searched twice. Breakfast while transiting to Baltra and a repack of everything. Goodbye to the Chacalote Explorer crew who had been brilliant and a final panga ride to the jetty. Sad to be leaving but pleased not to have to worry about life jackets on a daily basis. We were bussed to the airport arriving at 08:30. Darwin checked us in and printed out baggage labels and we dropped our bags off. My hold bag weighing in at 14kg (a lot relating to things I’d not needed) and my day bag about 8-9kg with camera computer and two pairs of bins. We were in the departure lounge at 09:10 with our flight at 11:30. Expensive tourist shops in the airport and I resisted Galapagos socks at $7 a pair. Blue-footed Boobies were popular, on socks and t-shirts, but nothing I thought Megan might like. Esteban was waiting at Quito Airport with a van to take us to our hotel at San Jose de Puembo. A much nicer location than our hotel in the city and closer to the airport. I spent the last half hour of daylight birding in the grounds although saw little. Birds seen on the Galapagos: 3 probable Semipalmated Plovers (from airport bus), juvenile Lava Gull (Baltra), 15 Brown Noddies, 12 Elliot’s Storm Petrels, 35 Galapagos Shearwaters, 20 Blue-footed Boobies, 4 Brown Pelicans, Lava Heron and 3 Small Gound Finches (Baltra). Birds seen in Puembo: 3 Eared Doves, American Kestrel, Vermillion Flycatcher, Tropical Mockingbird, 10 Blue & White Swallows, 2 Great Thrushes and Blue-grey Tanager.

Brown Pelican and Brown Noddy at Black Turtle Cove

Black Turtle Cove

Blue-footed Boobies at Black Turtle Cove

Brown Pelican and Blue-footed Booby at Black Turtle Cove

not the best neighbours

Galapagos Shearwater off Black Turtle Cove

goodbye to the Chacalote Explorer and a last Brown Noddy

juvenile Lava Gull by Baltra jetty

Thursday 22 May 2025. ANTISANA. I was in the half of the group opting for Antisana (the others opting for Otovalo market and Equator museum). We were picked up by Roberto Cedeno at 06:30 and drove up into the paramo with a coffee stop at the hummingbird feeders at Tambo Condor on the way up. Hummers included Black-tailed Trainbearer, Shining Sunbeam, Great Sapphirewing and Giant Hummingbird and Andean Condors were frequently in view although never close. At the National Park entrance we saw Blue-mantled Thornbill, Tawny Antpitta and Andean Foxes. A big lunch and more time watching hummers at Tambo Condor on the way back but unfortunately planned stops lower down were cut short as the weather deteriorated and we were back at San Jose de Puembo at 16:00. We'd seen a few nice birds but after Galapagos I would have been just as happy to head straight home. I birded the grounds for an hour seeing no more than previously. Birds seen at Antisana: 5 Sparkling Violetears, male Black-tailed Trainbearer, male Blue-mantled Thornbill, 5 Tyrian Metaltails, 4 Shining Sunbeams, Great Sapphirewing, 2 Giant Hummingbirds , Band-tailed Pigeon, 5 Black-winged Ground Doves, 8 Andean Lapwing, 12 Andean Gulls, Neotropic Cormorant, 5 Andean Ibis, 10 Andean Condors , 2 Variable Hawks, 3 Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles, 2 American Kestrels, Aplomado Falcon, 3 Chestnut-winged and 6 Stout-billed Cincoldes, Tawny Antpitta, 4 Paramo Ground-Tyrants, 2 Red-crested Cotingas, 15 Brown-bellied Swallows, 4 Great Thrushes, 5 Hooded Siskins, 15 Rufous-collared Sparrows, Yellow-breasted Brushfinch, 3 Cinereous Conebills, 8 Plumbeous Sierra-Finches, 2 Plain-coloured Seedeaters and 6 Black Flowerpiercers. Birds seen at Puembo: Sparkling Violetear, 2 Western Emeralds, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, 6 Eared Doves, American Black Vulture, 2 American Kestrels, Vermillion Flycatcher, 20 Blue & White Swallows, Tropical Mockingbird, 2 Great Thrushes and Blue-grey Tanager.

Quito from below Tambo Condor

Red-crested Cotinga below Tambo Condor

Tyrian Metaltail at Tambo Condor

Sparkling Violetear at Tambo Condor

Shining Sunbeams at Tambo Condor

Cinereous Conebill at Tambo Condor

Blackish Flowerpiercer at Tambo Condor

Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle at Tambo Condor

Andean Condors from Tambo Condor

Quito from Tambo Condor

adult Carunculated Caracara on the western slopes of Antisana

juvenile Carunculated Caracara

Plain-capped Ground Tyrant on the western slopes of Antisana

Andean Gull on the western slopes of Antisana

Andean Lapwing on the western slopes of Antisana

Black-faced Ibis on the western slopes of Antisana

Blue-mantled Thornbill at Mica PNA

male Plumbeous Sierra Finch at Mica PNA

female Plumbeous Sierra Finch at Mica PNA

Tawny Antpittas at Mica PNA

Chestnut-winged Cinclodes at Mica PNA (Parque Nacional Antisana)

Chestnut-winged Cinclodes at Mica PNA (Parque Nacional Antisana)

Stout-billed Cinclodes at Mica PNA

Andean Fox at Mica PNA

Aplomado Falcon on the western slopes of Antisana

Black-tailed Trainbearer back at Tambo Condor

Giant Hummingbird at Tambo Condor, worth interrupting lunch for

Friday 23 May 2025. PUEMBO. Our final day was an anticlimax with hotel pickup scheduled for 15:00. I spent a couple of hours birding along a cycle path outside the hotel but didn’t see much so returned to my room to pack and write up notes. Our 10 hour flight to Madrid was 45 minutes late leaving Quito (an Airbus A350, me being in row 51 out of 54) and seemed quite bumpy over the Andes. Birds seen at Puembo: 4 Sparkling Violetears, 2 Western Emeralds, Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, 40 Eared Doves, American Black Vulture, 3 American Kestrels, Azara’s Spinetail heard, 3 Vermillion Flycatchers, 15 Blue & White Swallows, Tropical Mockingbird, 5 Great Thrushes, 5 Hooded Siskins, 20 Rufous-collared Sparrows, 2 Shiny Cowbirds and 2 Saffron Finches.

American Kestrel at San Jose Puembo

Tropical Mockingbird at San Jose Puembo

Saturday 24 May 2025. We landed in Madrid in plenty of time for our connection and were on time returning to Heathrow. I had an hour or so to wait for my bus and was back in Shoreham and home by 21:00. It had been a very enjoyable trip for most of the time, we had a knowledgeable guide in Darwin and the Chacalote Explorer was a very comfortable motor launch with an excellent crew. Being at only half capacity I had a cabin to myself which was a big plus as it would have been a bit of a squeeze sharing. The crew were excellent and the other participants friendly although I was surprised to be the only birder on the trip. My only disappointment was that despite ours being a two week cruise the itinerary didn't allow long enough looking for endemic landbirds and as a result some were missed.