Monday 19 May 2025. SANTA CRUZ. We arrived off the NW of Santa Cruz during the night and I
was up at 05:30 ahead of an 06:00 departure to Dragon Hill, an unscheduled early
visit to the last chance saloon for Vegetarian Finch. A species which we probably should have
seen well several times by now but hadn't, not helped by limited time at the best time of day in suitable habitat. We wet landed and walked through decent looking
open forest up to a very low hill with nice views but no Vegetarians. It soon became very hot and bird activity quickly dropped off, not that it had been much to start with. We were
back on board at 08:00 for breakfast and set off for the north end of Santiago.
SANTIAGO/BARTOLOME. We arrived in Sullivan Bay between Santiago and Bartolome
at 11:00, lunch was at noon with a panga ride/snorkeling from 14:00-15:10. The panga
circumnavigated Bartolome and was the best we'd done to date (Tiger & several White-tipped
Sharks, Turtles, 3 Wandering Tattlers and Galapagos Penguins). A dry
landing at 15:45 and a half hour walk on a 130 year old lava flow completely devoid of life. We were back
on board the Chacalote Explorer at 16:30 and departed an hour later for Genovesa.
I was on deck to dusk, a nice sunset but not the previous evenings stunner although
2 Band-rumped and a Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel and 22 Galapagos
Petrels made it worthwhile. Birds seen: 3 Galapagos Doves, 5 Smooth-billed
Anis, Dark-billed Cuckoo, Black-necked Stilt, American Oystercatcher,
3 Wandering Tattlers, 20 Brown Noddies, 5 Galapagos Penguins,
2 Red-billed Tropicbirds, 26 Elliot’s, 2 Band-rumped and a
Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel, 22 Galapagos Petrels, 18 Galapagos Shearwaters,
15 Magnificent Frigatebirds, a Nazca and 15 Blue-footed Boobies,
5 Brown Pelicans, 3 Lava Herons, 2 Great Blue Herons, 4 Galapagos
Flycatchers, 6 Galapagos Mockingbirds, 6 Mangrove Warblers, 6
Small Ground Finches. and 2 Common Cactus Finches.
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| a bit optimistic featuring Orca on the daily itinerary |
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| Lava Heron at Dragon Hill |
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| Chacalote Explorer off Dragon Hill |
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| Great Bule Heron at Dragon Hill |
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| Mangrove Warblers at Dragon Hill |
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| Black-necked Stilt at Dragon Hill |
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| Land Iguana at Dragon Hill |
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| view from Dragon Hill, it wasn't much of a hill |
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| Galapagos Shearwaters off Dragon Hill |
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| Santiago |
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| Elliot's Storm Petrels in Sullivan Bay |
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| Pinnacle Rock from Sullivan Bay |
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| White-tipped Shark as we circumnavigated Bartolome by panga |
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| Nazca Booby on Bartolome |
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| Bartolome viewpoint climbed on 13th |
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| Lava Heron on Bartolome |
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| Galapagos Penguin on Bartolome |
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| Sullivan Bay lava flow |
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| Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome, Sullivan Bay and the lava flow |
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| Pinnacle Rock |
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| Band-rumped Storm Petrel at sea north of Santiago |
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| Galapagos Petrels at sea north of Santiago |
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| sunset at sea north of Santiago, final stop Genovesa tomorrow ... |
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