GALAPAGOS TOUR REPORT 2025

17 - 27 May 2025

Mike Watson

Our 2025 Galapagos tour was another successful visit to the ‘Enchanted Isles’. The Galapagos Archipelago is a true bucket list birding and wildlife destination and thoroughly deserves this reputation. While our bird list was not high at 63 species, 30 of them were Galapagos-breeding endemics, 2 were breeding near-endemics and a further 13 were breeding endemic subspecies! Added to this, of the 30 breeding endemic species we saw a further 7 endemic breeding subspecies representing more splitting potential (the nominate form of Grey Warbler-Finch is not found on our itinerary and there are another three species of Darwin’s Finches out of the public reach for conservation reasons – Mangrove, Sharp-beaked and Vampire). There aren’t many compact island groups with this level of endemism – only São Tomé & Príncipe and Hawaii rival the Galapagos. Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1835, putting them firmly on the map as the birthplace of his evolutionary theories and it was fascinating to see the animals that inspired him and to follow in his footsteps. We also saw a total of 11 reptiles again, 10 of them endemic. As well as some interesting mammals and insects, not to mention almost 50 species of fish (including four species of shark), most of which were seen underwater on our five snorkeling excursions.

The seven nights cruise of around 1000 nautical miles around the archipelago aboard the classy motorized catamaran Nemo III took in no fewer than 11(!) islands: Baltra, Seymour Norte (North Seymour), Genovesa, Isabela, Fernandina, Floreana, Champion, Esañola, San Cristobal, Santa Fé and finally the main island, Santa Cruz. Our action-packed itinerary is designed to see all the publicly accessible endemic bird species, plus the other main wildlife spectacles and is only made possible within this short timescale by sailing overnight on many occasions. Our excellent Galapagos National Park naturalist, Jairo Gusqui, mentioned that many of us were about to realise a long-held dream to visit the Galapagos, this was certainly the case with our group.

ISLAND NO.#1 BALTRA

It appeared that someone had left the heating on as we got off the flight from Quito, or not, after the cool of the Andes, the warm wind blowing across the airstrip was like a hair dryer. A Small Ground Finch was in the rafters of the airport terminal as we stepped aboard the public transfer bus that would take us to Baltra Port and our cruise vessel. We could see the masts of a couple of beautiful catamarans in the bay, but which one? Nemo II, the sister ship to ours, was also here today. A couple of Lava Gulls were on the rocks by the jetty and distracted us while we put our life jackets on for the short zodiac ride to Nemo III. It’s only the rarest gull in the world with somewhere between 300 and 600 individuals! New birds followed quickly, with frigatebirds, Blue-footed Boobies, Galapagos Shearwaters, Brown Pelicans and Brown Noddies before we even left the harbour. The usual orientation and safety talk followed, as well as lunch as we sailed north. In no time at all we had dropped anchor and were ready for our first landing, a dry one on Seymour Norte. It was all happening very fast on this tour!

ISLAND NO.#2 SEYMOUR NORTE

A colony of Swallow-tailed Gulls thought by most to be the most beautiful gull in the world was waiting to greet us at the landing steps of Seymour Norte. What a welcome! We had a short while to take some backlit images against the dark shadows of the low lava cliffs where the gulls had bred. There was a scattering of goggle-eyed juveniles among the adults, hinting at their nocturnal feeding habits. A procession of frigatebirds of both species, Magnificent and Great were also riding the updraft of the cliffs as we headed inland through a Blue-footed Booby colony – another of the wildlife highlights of the Galapagos – we saw around 50 pairs of these terrific birds, some of which were indulging in pair-bonding courtship, including their weird sky-pointing and foot waving display. We could study the differences between the two frigatebirds (Great and Magnificent), while passing by massive Land Iguanas in the lovely low angle evening light. We also added Red-billed Tropicbird and Red-footed Booby to our trip list. Our first Marine Iguana and Galapagos Sea Lion also put in the appearances but more of them later. Painted Locusts Shistocerca melanocera and a few Galapagos Sulphur butterflies Phoebis sennae marcellina added further colour. Seymour Norte is Galapagos in miniature and had been a lovely introduction to some of the wonderful creatures we would spend the next week with. As we sailed north, the night sky was quite clear this evening (it wasn’t often on this tour) and our expert weatherman/astrologer Jay kindly shared his knowledge of the night sky with us, including the Southern Cross – a new constellation for those who had not crossed the equator before.

ISLAND NO.#3 GENOVESA

Sailing north overnight saw only some gentle movement as the big cat showed off her stability and next morning saw us at anchor in the vast flooded volcano caldera of Great Darwin Bay at Genovesa Island. We had crossed the equator for the first time this tour during the hours of darkness and now our view was of higher basalt cliffs than Seymour Norte, their base also dotted with gorgeous Swallow-tailed Gulls. The cliffs are only around 25 metres tall but they form the walls of the flooded caldera and drop a further 60 metres below the water’s surface! Small parties of Galapagos Shearwaters zipped by as we boarded our large zodiac for another dry landing. However, before we landed, we cruised along the cliffs in search of a few special animals. We noted Mangrove Warbler (one landed on Nemo III), the ubiquitous Galapagos Dove, a feisty young Lava Heron busy hunting the colourful and plentiful Sally Lightfoot crabs, a pair of Genovesa Ground Finches at their nest in a Prickly Pear cactus, Galapagos Mockingbirds and a Yellow-crowned Night Heron of the local form pauper. Finally, we found what we were really searching for, the scarce and shy Galapagos Fur Seal, this is a good spot for them, and we only saw this special mammal once again on the tour. Sometimes we only see it at this spot! There were at least four of them, including one thick-set male. A sleek Galapagos Sea Lion nearby was a good comparison. The Prince Philip steps lay ahead, named in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh, who visited Genovesa. Fortunately, they are now actual steps. One good thing to come out of the Covid-19 lockdowns was that the National Park staff built some concrete steps with handrails here, in place of the rough rock scramble through the lava boulders that only resembled steps.

At the top of the steps our instant reward was a Large Ground Finch. Probably the most striking of all of Darwin’s Finches, with an unfeasibly huge bill that looks way too big for its head. Also here was a lovely pair of Red-footed Boobies with a well grown chick. We would have appreciated them more had we realised at the time how few we would see on the rest of the tour. I was happy to see some healthy versions of this ocean-going gannet after my experience in Texas last month. Orange-billed Nazca Boobies dominated the hinterland of this landing though and were much appreciated as we walked between them. We are supposed to give them plenty of room, but this is impossible when they approach you and block your path!  As if all this was not enough, the real highlight of the morning landing lay ahead. As the bushes thinned out, we found ourselves on the edge of a lava field that stretched away to the sea and a sky full of Wedge-rumped Storm Petrels, coming and going from their nest sites in the tiny crevices between the rocks. Petrels visiting their colony in such numbers during daytime was a new phenomenon for me. We counted at least 50 Red-billed Tropicbirds too, some being harassed by Great Frigatebirds (they outnumber Magnificent here, unlike everywhere else we went from now on). Such a throng of small birds must attract predators, right? Of course it does. We could see the remains of storm petrels here and there across the lava field, wings and breastbones mostly. The work of Short-eared Owls. That is what people come here for. Eventually an owl showed up, mobbed as it flew across the storm petrel colony, which number in the thousands! The owl landed and would bob its head from side to side as it followed the flight of the storm petrels, lining up potential victims and then it struck. Unsuccessfully a few times, after which it relocated and tried again in another spot until it grabbed one out of the sky, serious skills! The poor storm petrel was carried off into the bushes, maybe to feed hungry owlets? We managed some great images of this action, a real tour highlight, of BBC wildlife documentary standard! On another subject, strangely Genovesa does not have any lava lizards!

Deep water snorkeling in the caldera was very productive with Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks the highlight, but we still had plenty of finchy business to attend to here, we were still missing two of the endemic forms. One a species in its own right, Genovesa Cactus Finch, and the other the drab and unassuming mentalis subspecies of Grey Warbler-Finch. Our afternoon wet landing in Darwin’s Bay scored both, as well as featuring some very nice views of Lava and Swallow-tailed Gulls, a walk through a Red-footed Booby and Great Frigatebird colony, a Wandering Tattler and another couple of Large Ground Finches. Genovesa would be the only place we would see these monsters. Cruising west this evening towards Marchena gave us our first chance to do some proper pelagic birding and among hundreds of Wedge-tailed Storm Petrels we spied a few Band-rumpeds in our wake, their crazy swinging flight action the first clue and further away from the boat and frankly disinterested in us, our first Galapagos Petrels started to appear. Their deliberate shearing action, with barely a wing flap was very noticeable. What a day it had been! As darkness fell and identifying birds against the water became impossible, a group of Swallow-tailed Gulls kept us company for a while, far out to sea. I wonder how far they wander at night?

ISLAND NO. #4 ISABELA

One of the most enjoyable things about our Galapagos cruise is spending time on Nemo III. It was nice to be on deck as we sailed around the northwest tip of Isabela before dawn, watching storm petrels and shearwaters coming and going as we neared Punta Vicente Roca. Breakfast itself was rudely interrupted by a pair of Galapagos Penguins stood on rocks in the sheltered cove here but they slipped into the waves and were lost to view. A special moment being some of our folks’ first ever penguins. Well, they are the only penguins in the world found this far north. We could also see their fellow flightless distant cousins, Flightless Cormorants resting on the rocky beach in the same cove. Both birds are confined to the Galapagos and only the northwest corner of the archipelago at that. High above the cove our first Galapagos Hawks hung on the updrafts, and a colony of Blue-footed Boobies was a hive of activity. Our zodiac rides got us very close to the cliffs and the Brown Noddies nesting there, as well as the numerous Marine Iguanas and a few Flightless Cormorants. The cormorants might not sound too appealing but those bright turquoise eyes shine like precious stones and did you know Flightless is the largest cormorant in the world? They are bold as well and one of them appeared behind the zodiac and started chewing the mooring rope! The second zodiac ride scored a penguin too, but it was all too elusive for the cameras, constantly diving in the surf off the point itself. We spent the rest of the morning cruising south in the broad Canal Bolivar, adding to our Galapagos Petrel tally in the sunshine, although without a breath of wind they were not keen on flying.

As we neared Tagus Cove, on the west coast of Isabela, named after a British warship that visited the area in 1814, we started our search for the endangered Galapagos Martin, another bird whose population is only in 3 figures and status is unknown, with a woolly estimate reported by IUCN of between 250 and 999 birds! John excelled himself in spotting one flying along the cliff top well before we reached the cove, pressure off. We spotted another four in the cove itself, two adults and two youngsters. As we watched them a group of penguins swam by. Also here were more Flightless Cormorants and another hawk.

ISLAND NO.#5 FERNANDINA

The action-packed day continued not far to the west off the northeast corner of Fernandina at Punta Espinosa (‘Spiny Point’), where the snorkelers got to see the transformation of ungainly cormorants into sleek, torpedo-like underwater beings. The late afternoon dry landing was one of the most fun of the tour for the photographers. We explored the low rocky point with its patches of mangroves and lovely sandy beaches. Bird diversity was low here with only 10 species that included our first Great Blue Heron of the bright local race cognata and a couple of Ruddy Turnstones. We had some close views of Galapagos Hawk here too. The piles of Marine Iguanas stole the show, sneezing saltwater from their nostrils and presenting some great photo compositions. The lovely Brachycereus Lava Cactus growing in small clumps on the relatively young swirls of pahoehoe lava flows was another wonderful sight. Fernandina was made famous by the BBC wildlife documentary Planet Earth II with a sequence of a baby Marina Iguana running the gauntlet of a writhing mass of snakes. We did not see any writhing masses, but we did manage to find two Fernandina Snakes, one of the spotted variety featured in the video clip and another of the striped form. It was difficult to accept that these two snakes were the same species, but the only other possibility on Fernandina is the heavily banded Darwin’s Racer, which looks nothing like either of them. Happily, they are both harmless to man, nice to know as one slithered across John’s foot. The island’s endemic lava lizard was nice too, one of which stood on the rearranged bones of a Bryde’s Whale.

RETURN TO ISABELA

Next morning we anchored off Isabela’s main town, Puerto Villamil, protected by an extensive lava reef. Our dry landing this morning began with an extended zodiac ride along the reef edge, which resulted in some great views of Hudsonian Whimbrel, our best views of Galapagos Penguin by far and a very close Lava Heron, also our best encounter with this one. Keeping up the volcanic theme, a couple of Lava Gulls flew by. As we approached the jetty a group of Brown Pelicans was diving into the surf off the beach and when we looked closer, we could see they were accompanied by a gang of penguins, there was obviously a shoal of fish here. Another seven Ruddy Turnstones were by the jetty, they were leaving it rather late to head north or maybe they were taking a year out? At least one adult male was in nice breeding plumage suggesting the former. Strolling to our Chiva (open-sided truck), our first Galapagos Flycatcher was on nearby lamp posts. It is small for a Myarchus genus flycatcher! Winding our way through town we headed up into the mist that shrouded Volcan Negra. The more humid climate here has allowed a moss-clad forest to develop and with it more endemic birds. This was our only shot at the lovely Darwin’s (or Brujo, yeuch) Flycatcher. We were lucky to see three of them, including one nice pink male. More finches were added to our list – Green Warbler-, Woodpecker, Small Tree and Medium Ground. The smart Dark-billed Cuckoo and the not-so-smart Smooth-billed Ani were also added to our list. There is a much trickier bird here though. Eventually, we heard it along one of the narrow paths through the ferns and damp woodland undergrowth and it wasn’t long before we were able to set eyes on it, crossing the path almost at our feet, Galapagos Crake (or Rail). Like Darwin’s Flycatcher is an obvious descendant of Vermilion Flycatcher, the tiny little crake looks like a relative of Black Rail. The mist put paid to our chances of hiking to the crater rim, much to the disappointment of those already ‘finched-out’ by this point. Quite understandably. Our visit to the uplands of Isabela ended on a sad note with a dead American Barn Owl in the gutter, it was unlucky to get hit on this unbelievably quiet road. Butterflies abounded here with Queen, Galapagos Sulphur, Galapagos Blue and Long-tailed Skipper.

We descended to the coastal lowlands and the vicinity of Puerto Villamil, where a flooded quarry produced several gaudy American Flamingos, White-cheeked Pintail and Common Gallinule. Another rather uninspiring lake in town with a robust boardwalk produced the same again plus Black-winged Stilts and a stray Lava Gull hassling them. We were still missing one finch by this point, and it was spotted in the most bizarre location, on a transformer box in town, the long-beaked Common Cactus Finch. We had been looking for it in the cactus forest outside town without any luck. The afternoon was spent cruising east towards Floreana, diverting south a little to skirt the edge of the deeper water. We enjoyed some more great seabirding, tallying 34 Galapagos Petrels and our only surprise seabird, a Sooty Shearwater. Well away from land the wavelength was truly awesome, maybe 300m at times? Coming from a faraway storm in the Pacific maybe?

ISLAND NO.#6 FLOREANA

Another island, another Chiva. This time it was creepy Floreana with its weird history of European immigrants, unsolved murders and people who had their teeth removed before they came here and shared a pair of dentures! The peaks of the twin volcanoes that dominate the island were also shrouded in mist and birding up there was a little damp. We managed a good view of the recent colonist Paint-billed Crake, a widespread South American bird, by taking a short diversion from our search for our main target on this island, the thoroughly underwhelming Medium Tree Finch. It does have an interesting wheezing call though. We found a few only a stone’s throw from the caves where the island’s first European settlers had found shelter, at Asilo de la Paz. We were back on board Nemo III in time for lunch.

ISLAND NO.#7 CHAMPION ISLAND

We didn’t set foot on this one and it is more of an islet satellite of Floreana, lying only a short way offshore. However, it is one of the last refuges of Floreana Mockingbird, which no longer occurs on the mainland. The mockingbird did the decent thing and showed itself to us, quite closely actually. We had some nice views atop the prickly pears along the clifftop. It was rather scraggy though, in heavy moult. Then followed a circumnavigation of the island, admiring its numerous Swallow-tailed Gulls, Galapagos Shearwaters and Red-billed Tropicbirds before the snorkelers jumped in and explored under the water too.

The late afternoon landing at Punta Cormorant (there are no cormorants here, it is named after a US boat, not the flightless bird) featured a deluge, some great looks at Red Ghost Crab on the beach, busily excavating its hole in the sand as the tide went out and finally some lovely light on the flamingo colony on the nearby brackish lagoon for the photographers. We added Semipalmated Plover to our trip list here too was a group of four Cow-nosed Golden Rays was in the shallows for the over-water-only folks.

ISLAND NO.#8 ESPAÑOLA

The jewel in the crown of islands, Española did not disappoint. Our early morning wet landing was on the beach at gorgeous Gardner Bay, the world’s 47th best beach, apparently. The others must be amazing! Gardner Bay is a 2km long curved white sand beach with crystal clear turquoise water. With only sea lions for company for a while we explored the beach and the bushes along the high-water mark. Finch alert! There were lots of Española Cactus Finches and Small Ground Finches as well as Galapagos Doves and the heavy-billed Española Mockingbirds, which were by far the boldest mockingbirds we had encountered so far. A few Grey Warbler-Finches of the island form cinerascens foraged in the bushes on the edge of the beach and the island’s lava lizard was also here. Some saw American Oystercatcher here too. Long-tailed Skippers landed on the sand and every now and again a freak wave would surprise those getting down for a low angle photo. The snorkelers enjoyed an excellent swim from the beach and around a nearby islet, before it was time to relocate.

The best of Española (and the entire tour) was reserved for the afternoon’s dry landing at Punta Suarez, where the unfortunate cruise boat Cormorant II had run aground around six months earlier. We saw their plastic bottles in the water around the coastline here. What a shock that must have been, no one was hurt but talk about a bad day at the office! Another question today was ‘How have we not seen a Waved Albatross on our travels yet when this island is stacked with them?’. They mostly head south and east from Española to feed and away from the archipelago. We saw plenty of them today though, around 250. The trail at Punta Suarez took us through their colony and allowed some great close encounters with these amazing birds. Quite small for an albatross, in fact not much longer than a Nazca Booby but with a massive yellow bill and a vast wingspan. We saw mostly single birds on nests, a few pairs, including one engaged in an elaborate courtship display that was surely the reason this was the runaway winner of the ‘bird of the trip’ contest. The pair tapped bills, waved their necks from side to side and threw open their mouths in an incredible sequence where one copied the other’s moves. There were lots of Nazca Boobies here too and a few Blue-footed. At the southern tip of the point a tremendous blowhole blasted water 25m high into the sky with every few waves (and one freak wave, which broke over the cliff top, a warning that such things exist when facing a vast ocean). Red-billed Tropicbirds and Swallow-tailed Gulls flew by here too. It really was a perfect scene, but we only had eyes for the albatrosses, a couple of which walked to the cliff top and eventually took to the skies. Many more of them cruised past through the breakers below or even at eye level along the clifftop. Rafts were gathering offshore, no doubt birds getting ready to go on feeding sorties. One of the best birding spots I had the privilege to visit so far. Simply stunning.

ISLAND NO.#9 SAN CRISTOBAL

This morning, we woke up in San Cristobal harbour, the administrative capital of the Galapagos no less. It has even got a police car with blues and twos! A very civilized and built-up town, full of tourist souvenir shops, bars and restaurants. We escaped from these quickly and headed inland in a nice coach. We needed four birds here: San Cristobal Mockingbird, a separate species, plus three subspecies, Grey Warbler-Finch (luteola), Woodpecker Finch (striatipecta) and Small Tree Finch (salvini), all of which were seen quite easily in either the local cemetery or along its adjacent cycle track! Another rather surreal experience, as the cemetery is not an earth burial one, more a safety deposit box style operation. All beautifully maintained. We were done quickly and got trapped in the souvenir shops briefly, before it was time to leave San Cristobal. Cruising west in the sunshine was very pleasant and produced a Waved Albatross, our only one of the trip at sea, another 16 Galapagos Petrels and three Band-rumped Storm Petrels.

ISLAND NO.#10 SANTA FÉ

Barrington Bay is a lovely, sheltered lagoon on the north coast of Santa Fé and was our final snorkeling location. After the snorkelers had finished their excursion, we all donned life jackets for our final wet landing of the tour. A trio of Spotted Eagle Rays greeted us! There weren’t any new bird species here for us but there were a couple of nice subspecies, the Santa Fé Galapagos Mockingbird and Grey Warbler-Finch. The former was waiting for us on the beach, but the latter took a lot of searching. Eventually we found one along the trail, which was dotted with Common Cactus Finches, the first we had seen since Genovesa. There were two very nice other species though, Santa Fé Land Iguana and Santa Fé Lava Lizard. We could see evidence of the Land Iguana’s work on the large Opuntia cacti here and we saw three of them. The first a small youngster but then two real brutes, the first so big it was literally dragging itself along the trail away. from us. We reached our rendezvous beach and found it already occupied by sea lions, which made some nice evening photo subjects.

ISLAND NO.#11 SANTA CRUZ

All good things come to an end, and this morning we disembarked Nemo III for the last time. It had been a classic cruise. We were now in the Canal Itabaca at the Santa Cruz ferry port and boarding another nice coach! Santa Cruz holds a good number of special birds and other things. Our first port of call was partly to get everyone a view of the elusive Galapagos Crake, which worked spectacularly well in the damp highlands of the island, after about a kilometre steady uphill walk. The other reason was to work on some more finches. We added the pallida form of Woodpecker Finch along the same trail and had some nice views of Green Warbler-Finch again. We also saw a couple of Paint-billed Crakes and Dark-billed Cuckoos along the road in this area. Descending into plantations of coffee, papaya and banana growing among large trees, we began our search for Large Tree Finch. Like many of the finches we saw, they had already bred and were not at all responsive, in fact the ones we saw were already feeding young.

So, one more item of unfinched business. Vegetarian Finch. Often the toughest to find I was told. Arrive at the quarry, park the bus, walk about 30 metres and there they are, feeding in a cat’s claw tree on its tiny round fruits. This was probably the most satisfying of all the 20 forms of Darwin’s Finch we saw. A hulking brute, the size of a grosbeak, with a decent length tail, they don’t pass in a crowd of other finches. The sooty-headed male is an impressive beast! Which just left a couple of other things to do.

The Primicias Ranch in the southwest of the island is our (and I think everyone else’s) go-to spot for American Barn Owl. There was one in residence at its roost and allowed a procession of us to take a peek at it. We even had time to enjoy a guided walk along a very impressive lava tunnel. The star attraction of the ranch, however, is its giant-tortoises. Santa Cruz Giant-Tortoise is one of 14 species of giant-tortoise, some of which are now extinct. They seem to be doing well on the ranch, and we were told they roam freely and are of wild origin? Being tortoises, they do not do much except eat, but at least one of them ‘chased’ a female briefly before she made off, about five metres away and he gave up. They were still very popular with our group and their faces are undeniably characterful. After the islands’ discovery by the Europeans the giant-tortoises were plundered by sailors. They could live for long periods without food, so they made ideal sources of fresh meat. They were even used as ballast! Phew, it was humid on Santa Cruz today, around 97% to be precise and after a truly energy-sapping morning we retired to our comfortable hotel in Puerto Ayora. Opening the curtains next morning there was a pair of American Oystercatchers piping away on the rocks in the bay, a nice catch up for those up early enough today. A pale adult Striated Heron was here too! The immature small herons are thought nigh impossible to ID. We made a quick visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station and added another giant-tortoise to our list, albeit a long dead one, Lonesome George in his temperature-controlled mausoleum, the last Pinta Giant-Tortoise, which died in 2012 after 41 years in captivity. He was discovered on Pinta Island in 1971 by Hungarian zoologist József Vágvölgyi and relocated to Santa Cruz for his own safety. His habitat on Pinta had been degraded by goats and he was the only remaining individual of his (at that time) subspecies. There were some wild Santa Cruz Lava Lizards here too. Our journey back to the mainland went smoothly and swiftly, with a Land Iguana as we walked from the departure gate to the aircraft.

Thank you to our very enthusiastic group and particularly to our Galapagos National Park Naturalist Guide Jairo Gusqui and the awesome crew of Nemo III, who went well above and beyond to make our trip a safe and very enjoyable one. Nemo III herself was a real star too, what a lovely and very comfortable way to travel around the ‘Enchanted Isles’!

‘Bird’ of the trip:

1. Waved Albatross
2. Blue-footed Booby
3. Galapagos Penguin
4. Red-footed Booby
5. Galapagos Giant Tortoise
6. Galapagos Crake
7. Magnificent Frigatebird
8. Marine Iguana
9. Brujo Flycatcher
10. Galapagos Sea Lion

SYSTEMATIC LIST OF BIRD SPECIES RECORDED DURING THE TOUR

Species marked with the diamond symbol (◊) are either endemic to the country or local region or considered ‘special’ birds for some other reason (e.g., it is only seen on one or two Birdquest tours; it is difficult to see across all or most of its range; the local form is endemic or restricted-range and may in future be treated as a full species). The species names and taxonomy used in the bird list follow Gill, F., Donsker, D., & Rasmussen, P.(Eds). 2025. IOC World Bird List (v15.1).

White-cheeked Pintail  Anas bahamensis  Noted Puerto Villamil, Rancho Primicias & Puerto Ayora.

Smooth-billed Ani  Crotophaga ani  Widespread from Isabela.

Dark-billed Cuckoo  Coccyzus melacoryphus  First Volcan Negra, Santa Isabela

Galapagos Dove ◊  Zenaida galapagoensis  Abundant from Genovesa onwards.

Paint-billed Crake  Mustelirallus erythrops  Good views on Floreana & Santa Cruz.

Common Gallinule  Gallinula galeata  Noted Puerto Villamil & Rancho Primicias.

Galapagos Crake ◊  Laterallus spilonota  Great views at Volcan Negra, Isabela and Media Luna, Santa Cruz.

American Flamingo ◊  (Caribbean F)  Phoenicopterus ruber  Noted Puerto Villamil, Isabela & Punta Cormorant, Floreana.

American Oystercatcher  Haematopus palliates  Noted Gardner Bay, Esañola & Pelican Bay, Santa Cruz.

Black-necked Stilt  Himantopus mexicanus  Puerto Villamil, Santa Cruz.

Semipalmated Plover  Charadrius semipalmatus  One, Punta Cormorant, Floreana.

Hudsonian Whimbrel  Numenius hudsonicus  Singles Punta Espinosa & Puerto Villamil.

Wandering Tattler  Tringa incana  Singles Genovesa & Puerto Villamil.

Ruddy Turnstone  Arenaria interpres  25 tallied, the first at Punta Espinosa.

Brown Noddy (Common N)  Anous stolidus  Common, from Genovesa onwards.

Swallow-tailed Gull ◊  Creagrus furcatus  c.600 tallied, from Seymour Norte onwards. Stunning!

Lava Gull ◊  Leucophaeus fuliginosus  Ten, the first at Baltra Port.

Red-billed Tropicbird  Phaethon aethereus  Common, c.180 noted from Seymour Norte onwards.

Galapagos Penguin  ◊ Spheniscus mendiculus  c.30 noted from Punta Vicente Roca onwards.

Elliot’s Storm Petrel ◊  (White-vented S P)  Oceanites gracilis  Very common throughout often close inshore.

Waved Albatross ◊  Phoebastria irrorate  c.250 Punta Suarez, Española & 1 between San Cristobal & Santa Fé.

Band-rumped Storm Petrel ◊  Hydrobates castro  19 sightings from Genovesa onwards.

Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel ◊  Hydrobates tethys Uncountable thousands on Genovesa, small numbers thereafter.

Galapagos Petrel ◊  Pterodroma phaeopygia  70 sightings from Genovesa onwards.

Sooty Shearwater  Ardenna grisea  A singleton between Santa Cruz and Floreana.

Galapagos Shearwater ◊  Puffinus subalaris  Very common from Baltra Port onwards.

Magnificent Frigatebird  Fregata magnificens  Small numbers in the northeast but the common frigatebird elsewhere.

Great Frigatebird  Fregata minor  The common frigatebird on Genovesa but only small numbers after.

Red-footed Booby ◊  Sula sula  c.150 in the northeast but only 1 after, which landed on Nemo III between Santa Cruz & Floreana.

Nazca Booby ◊  Sula granti  Common throughout.

Blue-footed Booby ◊  Sula nebouxii  Colonies Seymour Norte, Punta Vicente Roca & Punta Suarez.

Flightless Cormorant ◊  Nannopterum harrisi  28 noted NW Española & Fernandina.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron  Nyctanassa violacea  Six, the first at Genovesa.

Striated Heron  Butorides striata  A pale adult at Pelican Bay, Santa Cruz.

Lava Heron ◊  Butorides sundevalli  At least 12 sightings, some clear adults but some immatures.

Western Cattle Egret  Ardea ibis  A scatter of sightings from Isabela onwards.

Great Blue Heron  Ardea herodias  Three sightings.

Brown Pelican  Pelecanus occidentalis  Common.

Galapagos Hawk ◊  Buteo galapagoensis  Nine sightings.

American Barn Owl ◊  (Galapagos B O)  Tyto [furcata] punctatissima  One dead Isabela and one alive Santa Cruz.

Short-eared Owl ◊  (Galapagos S E O)  Asio [flammeus] galapagoensis  1-2 Genovesa catching storm petrels.

Darwin’s Flycatcher ◊  (Galapagos Vermilion F)  Pyrocephalus nanus  3 (1 male) Volcan Negra, Isabela.

Galapagos Flycatcher ◊  Myiarchus magnirostris  Eight sightings.

Galapagos Martin ◊  Progne modesta  Five sightings, all in or near Tagus Cove, Isabela.

Galapagos Mockingbird ◊  (Santa Fe G M)  Mimus parvulus barringtoni  c.15 Barrington Bay, Santa Fé.

Galapagos Mockingbird ◊  Mimus [parvulus] parvulus  Five Isabela & two Snata Cruz.

Galapagos Mockingbird ◊  (Genovosa G M)  Mimus [parvulus] bauri  Abundant Genovesa.

Floreana Mockingbird ◊  Mimus trifasciatus  One Champion Island, Floreana.

Espanola Mockingbird ◊  (Hood M)  Mimus macdonaldi  Common Gardner Bay & Punta Suarez, Española.

San Cristobal Mockingbird ◊  (Chatham M)  Mimus melanotis  Two El Progreso, San Cristobal.

Mangrove Warbler  Setophaga petechia  Abundant from Genovesa onwards, in all habitats.

Green Warbler-Finch ◊  (Olive W-F)  Certhidea olivacea  Noted in upland Isabela & Santa Cruz.

Grey Warbler-Finch ◊  (Genovosa G W-F)  Certhidea [fusca] mentalis  A single on the Darwin’s Bay landing.

Grey Warbler-Finch ◊  (San Cristobal G W-F)  Certhidea [fusca] luteola  One El Progreso, San Cristobal.

Grey Warbler-Finch ◊  (Santa Fe G W-F)  Certhidea [fusca] bifasciata  One Barrington Bay, Santa Fé.

Grey Warbler-Finch ◊  (Espaniola G W-F)  Certhidea [fusca] cinerascens  Three at Gardner Bay.

Vegetarian Finch ◊  Platyspiza crassirostris  Three (one male) Red Granillo Mine, Santa Cruz.

Medium Tree Finch ◊  Camarhynchus pauper  Three Asilo de la Paz, Floreana.

Woodpecker Finch ◊  (Southern W F)  Camarhynchus [pallidus] pallidus  Two Media Luna, Santa Cruz.

Woodpecker Finch ◊  (Western W F)  Camarhynchus [pallidus] productus  Two Volcan Negra, Isabela.

Woodpecker Finch ◊  (San Cristobal W F)  Camarhynchus [pallidus] striatipecta  One El Progreso, San Cristobal.

Small Tree Finch ◊  Camarhynchus parvulus parvulus  Noted Isabela & upland Floreana.

Small Tree Finch ◊  (San Cristobal  S T F) Camarhynchus parvulus salvini  Two El Progreso, San Cristobal.

Large Tree Finch ◊  Camarhynchus psittacula  A male and two immatures Santa Cruz.

Small Ground Finch ◊  Geospiza fuliginosa  Noted from NW Isabela onwards, abundant in places.

Genovesa Ground Finch ◊  Geospiza acutirostris  Common on Genovesa.

Espanola Cactus Finch ◊  Geospiza conirostris  Common Gardner Bay, Española.

Genovesa Cactus Finch ◊  Geospiza propinqua  Eight noted Darwin’s Bay, Genovesa.

Large Ground Finch ◊  Geospiza magnirostris  Six sightings Genovesa only.

Common Cactus Finch ◊  Geospiza scandens  One Puerto Villamil, Isabela & three Barrington Bay, Santa Fé.

Medium Ground Finch ◊  Geospiza fortis  Noted from Volcan Negra onwards.

MAMMALS

Galapagos Fur Seal  Arctocephalus galapagoensis  Four Prince Philips Steps, Genovesa & two for some Punta Vicente Roca, Isabela.

Galapagos Sea Lion  Zalophus wollebaeki  Common and widespread.

Galapagos Rice Rat Aegialomys galapagoensis  Two, Barrington Bay.

REPTILES 

Santa Cruz Giant-Tortoise  Chelonoidis porteri  c.25 Rancho Primicias, Santa Cruz.

Green Turtle  Chelonia mydas  A scatter of sightings.

Marine Iguana  Amblyrhynchus cristatus  Very common, from Seymour Norte onwards.

Santa Fe Land Iguana  Conolophus pallidus  Three Barrington Bay, Santa Fé.

Galapagos Land Iguana  Conolophus subcristatus  Noted Seymour Norte & Baltra.

Galapagos Lava Lizard (Isabela L L)  Microlophus albemarlensis  c.20 Punta Espinosa, Fernandina.

Santa Cruz Lava Lizard  Microlophus indefatigabilis  Noted Seymour Norte & Puerto Ayora.

Santa Fe Lava Lizard  Microlophus barringtonensis  Common Barrington Bay, Santa Fé.

Española Lava Lizard  Microlophus delanonis  Noted Gardner Bay & Punta Suarez.

Floreana Lava Lizard  Microlophus grayii  Five Punta Cormorant.

Western Galapagos Racer (Fernandina Snake)  Pseudalsophis occidentalis  Two Punta Espinosa.

BUTTERFLIES

Monarch Danaus plexippus

Queen Danaus gilippus thersippus

Galapagos Blue Leptotes parrhasioides

Galapagos Sulphur Phoebis sennae marcelliana

Long-tailed Skipper Urbanus dorantes galapagensis

FISH

Scalloped Hammerhead Shark Sphyrna lewini

Galapagos Shark Cacharhinus galapagensis

Black-tipped Reef Shark Carcharhinus melanopterus

White-tipped Reef Shark Triaenodon obesus

Manta Ray Mobula birostris

Mobula Ray Mobula japanica

Golden Cownose Ray Rhinoptera steindacheri

Spotted Eagle Ray Aetobatus narinari

Diamond Stingray Hyparus dipterus

Guineafowl Pufferfish Arothron meleagris

Yellow-bellied Triggerfish Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus

Finescale Triggerfish Balistes polylepis

Steel Pompadour Trachinotus stilbe

King Angelfish Holacanthus passer

Mexican Barred Snapper Hoplopagrus guentherii

Giant Damselfish Microspathodon dorsalis

Yellowtail Damselfish Chrysiptera parasema

Galapagos Ringtail Damselfish Stegastes beebei

Blue-chinned Parrotfish Scarus ghobban

Galapagos Grouper Mycteroperca olfax

Panamic Sargeant Major Fish Abudefduf troschelii

Scissor-tailed Chromis Chromis atrilobata

Tiger Snake Eel Myrichthys tigrinus

Mola Mola Mola sp.

Rainbow Runner Elagatis bipinnulata

Flag Cabrilla Epinephelus labriformis

Chinese Trumpetfish Aulostomus chinensis

White Mullet Mugil curema

Giant Hogfish Bodianus macrognathos

Mexican Hogfish Bodianus diplotaenia

Pacific Bonito Sarda chiliensis

Pacific Creolefish Paranthias colonus

Convict Tang Acanthurus trioslegus

Cortez Rainbow Wrasse Thalassoma lucasanum

Surge Wrasse Thalassoma purpureum

Moorish Idol Zanclus cornatus

Reef Cornetfish Fistularia commersonii

Bravo Clinid Gobioclinus dentriticus

Dusky Chub Girella freminvilli

Galapgos Mullet Mugil galapagensis

Hieroglyphic Hawk Fish Cirrhitus rivulatus

Harlequin Wrasse Bodianus elancheri

Burrito Grunt Anisotremus interruptus

Panamic Fanged Blenny Ophioblennius steindacheri

Galapagos Triplefin Blenny Lepidonectes corallicola

Razor Surgeonfish Prionurus lactilavius

Galapagos Searobin Prionotus miles

Spotfin Burrfish Chilomycerus reticulatus

Black-striped Salema Brachygenus jessiae

APPENDIX 1. ENDEMIC BREEDING BIRD SPECIES

• Galapagos Dove  Zenaida galapagoensis 

• Galapagos Crake  Laterallus spilonota 

1. Lava Gull  Leucophaeus fuliginosus 
2. Galapagos Penguin  Spheniscus mendiculus 
3. Galapagos Petrel  Pterodroma phaeopygia 
4. Galapagos Shearwater  Puffinus subalaris 
5. Flightless Cormorant  Nannopterum harrisi 
6. Lava Heron  Butorides sundevalli 
7. Galapagos Hawk  Buteo galapagoensis 
8. Darwin’s Flycatcher  Pyrocephalus nanus 
9. Galapagos Flycatcher  Myiarchus magnirostris 
10. Galapagos Martin  Progne modesta 
11. Galapagos Mockingbird  Mimus parvulus 
12. Floreana Mockingbird  Mimus trifasciatus 
13. Española Mockingbird  Mimus macdonaldi 
14. San Cristobal Mockingbird  Mimus melanotis 
15. Green Warbler-Finch  Certhidea olivacea 
16. Grey Warbler-Finch Certhidea fusca 
17. Vegetarian Finch  Platyspiza crassirostris 
18. Medium Tree Finch  Camarhynchus pauper 
19. Woodpecker Finch Camarhynchus pallidus 
20. Small Tree Finch  Camarhynchus parvulus 
21. Large Tree Finch  Camarhynchus psittacula 
22. Small Ground Finch  Geospiza fuliginosa 
23. Genovesa Ground Finch  Geospiza acutirostris 
24. Española Cactus Finch  Geospiza conirostris 
25. Genovesa Cactus Finch  Geospiza propinqua 
26. Large Ground Finch  Geospiza magnirostris 
27. Common Cactus Finch  Geospiza scandens 
28. Medium Ground Finch  Geospiza fortis 

APPENDIX 2. NEAR-ENDEMIC BREEDING BIRD SPECIES

1. Swallow-tailed Gull  Creagrus furcatus (only elsewhere Malpelo Island, Colombia)
2. Waved Albatross  Phoebastria irrorate (only elsewhere Isla de la Plata, Ecuador)

APPENDIX 3. ENDEMIC BREEDING BIRD SUBSPECIES

1. White-cheeked Pintail  Anas bahamensis galapagensis
2. American Flamingo  Phoenicopterus ruber glyphorhgevus
3. Brown Noddy  Anous stolidus galapagensis
4. Elliot’s Storm Petrel  Oceanites gracilis galapagoensis
5. Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel  Hydrobates Tethys tethys
6. Magnificent Frigatebird  Fregata magnificens magnificens
7. Great Frigatebird  Fregata minor ridgewayi
8. Blue-footed Booby  Sula nebouxii excisa
9. Yellow-crowned Night Heron  Nyctanassa violacea pauper
10. Great Blue Heron  Ardea herodias cognata
11. Brown Pelican  Pelecanus occidentalis urinator
12. American Barn Owl  Tyto furcata punctatissima
13. Short-eared Owl  Asio flammeus galapagoensis

APPENDIX 4. ADDITIONAL ENDEMIC BREEDING BIRD SUBSPECIES

1. 1. Galapagos Mockingbird (Santa Fé)  Mimus parvulus barringtoni
   2. Galapagos Mockingbird (Genovosa)  Mimus parvulus bauri
   3. Grey Warbler-Finch (Genovosa)  Certhidea fusca mentalis
   4. Grey Warbler-Finch (San Cristobal)  Certhidea fusca luteola
   5. Grey Warbler-Finch (Santa Fe)  Certhidea fusca bifasciata
   6. Grey Warbler-Finch (Española)  Certhidea fusca cinerascens
   7. Woodpecker Finch (Isabela)  Camarhynchus pallidus productus
   8. Woodpecker Finch (San Cristobal)  Camarhynchus pallidus striatipecta