GALAPAGOS (II) TOUR REPORT 2022

21 - 31 May 2022

by János Oláh

This year we had two back to back tours to these most amazing group of islands! The Galapagos archipelago is situated 1000 kilometres out into the Pacific Ocean off Ecuador and I think this tour is most closely resembles to our arctic cruises with very tame wildlife with a big list of endemic birds as a great bonus! It also offers an outstanding chance for wildlife photography and even snorkelling. These island have one of the highest rates of endemism of any island group in the world and harbour many unique creatures, including several forms of Giant Tortoise, the strange but wonderful Marine Iguana and no fewer than 30 endemic species of birds! The islands are also justly famous as the birthplace of Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution through natural selection and the inspiration for his book The Origin of Species, formulated after his visit in 1835. He found these islands inhabited by a strange, almost random, selection of plants, reptiles, birds and mammals – all of which had apparently reached the islands by chance and were in the process of ‘coming to terms’ with their new-found environment, slowly evolving into new species. The Ecuadorian government declared most of the 8000 square kilometres (nearly 3100 square miles) of the archipelago, which consists of over 50 islands, a national park in 1959. Most of the archipelago and its important wildlife is now carefully protected as one of the most precious of the world’s natural showpieces.

Our tour is designed to see all the available endemic birds on these islands on a specially crafted itinerary in the shortest possible time. We used the handsome, first-class motor yacht, the Nemo III, which has 8 cabins available and comfortably takes up to 14 passengers. A superb boat to explore the Galapagos! On our second tour in 2022 we managed to see all the available endemic birds of these islands as well as all available endemic subspecies too. Strictly following the current taxonomy we recorded 65 species on this first tour as well as five species of mammals and good number of reptiles and insects. We also tried to see every currently recognised taxon of birds as you never know when they will be split up like the Grey Warbling Finch complex. There are some islands where tourist are not allowed hence not all Darwin’s finches are possible to see. On our short cruise we have visited eight of the main islands such as Santa Cruz, Genovese, Santa Fé, San Cristóbal, Espanola, Floreana, Isabela and Fernandina. We also visited several smaller offshore satellite islands like Baltra, Seymour Norte and Champion. We had the best possible landing slots to see the birds and could spend extended landing times on each island we could visit. There were many highlights but surely the walk amongst the breeding Waved Albatrosses on Espanola, watching the rare Galapagos Martin in its breeding ground, seeing the amazingly blue-eyed Flightless Cormorant, watching male Darwin’s Flycatchers on Isabela, tracking down some rare Darwin’s finches such as Vegetarian Finch and Large Tree Finch on Santa Cruz, lurking the skulking Paint-billed and Galapagos Crakes into view and of course the endless seabirds on the cruises are all to be remembered for a long time. On this second tour the sea conditions were definitely rougher, especially on our two longer overnight cruises. All in all it was a magical experience!

Our tour started in Quito where the group met and we were soon on our way to the Galapagos! When we arrived to Baltra Island off Santa Cruz where the main airport is located we had to go through all the necessary bureaucratic procedure, but it was smoothly run and really tourist friendly! Our first endemic birds were some Darwin’s finches, the Small and Medium Ground Finches around the airport. We soon met our local naturalist guide Jairo and moved to the harbour to board the Nemo III. It was all quick and efficient while birds were all around us. Galapagos Shearwaters were circling in the bay as well as Elliot’s Storm Petrels flitting around the boats. We had our first galapagensis race of American Oystercatchers and even some Lava Gulls. We already had lunch on board and transferred to Seymour Norte Island. When we arrived, there was an optional snorkelling while most photographers were playing with the feeding Elliot’s Storm Petrels ‘dancing’ around the boat. This was followed by our introductory landing and walk. It was a really good start and our short walk produced a Lava Heron, many Swallow-tailed and two Lava Gulls, many breeding Greater Frigatebirds and displaying Blue-footed Boobies as well as many Land Iguanas. Back on the boat we had a great dinner and not much later we sailed out from the bay and off to the north towards remote Genovesa Island!

Dawn on the deck! This became a habit for many, sipping coffee watching the new location where we arrived – most of the long sailings were done at night. Our first such a morning was inside the sea-filled old caldera of Genovesa (Tower) Island, a fantastic location! As it was getting light lines of Red-footed Boobies were flying over and frigatebirds were all around us. After breakfast we had a landing at Prince Philip’s Steps and walked to the Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel breeding colony. Wow! It was exciting to see thousands of these storm petrels flying around while we quickly secured great looks of Genovesa Ground Finch, Genovesa Cactus Finch, mentalis race of the Grey Warbling Finch and impressive-billed Large Ground Finches! There were a lot more finches’ around than two weeks ago on our first tour. Most of the finches were freshly fledged juveniles. Breeding Red-footed Boobies of both white and brown morphs were along the trail and Nazca Boobies were also numerous. We spent a fair amount of time looking for the ‘Galapagos’ Short-eared Owl which is often seen around the colony as this pair is specialized to eat the storm petrels, but we could not find it anywhere. Nevertheless we had a good photography session with the storm petrels and also seen the bauri race of Galapagos Mockingbird. This race is probably the most likely future split as Genovesa Mockingbird. On our way back to Nemo we found a few Galapagos Fur Seals, a rather hard-to-find endemic mammal. Lunch and snorkelling was followed by another landing with more looks of the same birds and lots of photography opportunities. There were noticeably more young birds around, allowing fantastic photos! Late afternoon we left Genovesa behind and spent the last bumpy hour with sea watching. It was rough sea indeed so after our first Galapagos Petrels and few Band-rumped Storm Petrels most people quickly retired.

Dawn on the deck was in a calm bay at Santa Fé (Barrington) Island and we had a pre-breakfast landing to this special cactus covered island. There were many Galapagos Sea Lions on our landing beach, curious animals. Our short walk along a loop trail in this unique habitat was very pleasant in the early morning hours and we had great looks of the bifasciata race of the Grey Warbling Finch and the barringtoni subspecies of Galapagos Mockingbird. We also had a few Small Ground Finches plus our first Common Cactus Finch. Yellow looking Santa Fé Land Iguanas were also seen and after we managed to pass by the hauling seals we were back on the pangas and heading for breakfast! Back on boat we spotted our first Galapagos Hawks and Elliot’s Storm Petrels were dancing around us while having breakfast. They were so close that many of us turned towards the cameras instead of cereals. After a short snorkelling session we were off to San Cristóbal. The few hours at sea was great and we spotted our first Waved Albatrosses and also nine critically endangered Galapagos Petrels showed up. Yet again all three common storm petrels were seen on this stretch of water. After lunch we arrived to San Cristóbal (Chatham) Island where the landing was easy in a proper port and we soon boarded our bus to explore the higher parts of this large island. We spent most of our time in the Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado, a tortoise breeding centre. We saw our first Giant Tortoises as well as all the birds we were after such as several San Cristobal Mockingbirds, Galapagos Flycatcher, the luteola race of Grey Warbling Finch and the striatipectus subspecies of Woodpecker Finch. Supporting cast included many Mangrove Warblers and both Small and Medium Ground Finches. On the way back to Puerto Baquerizo Moreno we had another stop and we tracked down the salvini race of Small Tree Finch. Back on Nemo we had a lovely dinner and as soon as we were in bed the anchor was lifted.

Dawn on the deck was in the sheltered Gardner’s Bay of Espanola Island. This bay with its superb sandy beach is on the northern shore of this most south-easterly island of the Galapagos group. A remote island famous of its breeding Waved Albatrosses, where 99% of the World’s population is found. A few breeding pairs occur at Isla de La Plata off coast of Manabí, still in Ecuador. We soon made a landing on this fantastic beach and there was only us and the wildlife – magical! Finding the target birds was not much of a challenge as the Espanola Mockingbirds were easily located, they were actually waiting for us. Apparently this is the mockingbird species which spends most time on the ground – compared to the other three species and numerous subspecies – and it is the ‘next’ species to became flightless (not in our lifetime though). Next we found the cinerascens race of Grey Warbling Finch feeding on the low bushes along the coast and soon the massive-billed Espanola Cactus Finch also showed well. We were also entertained by many Small Ground Finches and a few Galapagos Sea Lions. A strange looking rather big centipede or scolopendra was found and photographed while along the rocky part of the beach we saw our first really pinkish looking Marine Iguanas. After breakfast we had a fantastic snorkelling session with the Galapagos Sea Lions while some of us used the panga (zodiac) for photography. The galapagensis race of American Oystercatcher was also seen again and this time we managed some images as well. A short boat ride took us to Punta Suarez for an afternoon landing. What a place it was with breeding Waved Albatrosses, Galapagos Hawks, Nazca Boobies, Red-tailed Tropicbirds, Swallow-tailed Gulls, more Espanola Mockingbirds and Cactus Finches as well as several many Marine Iguanas and Espanola Sand Lizards. Needless to say the afternoon was fantastic and certainly one of the big highlights of a Galapagos tour!

Dawn on the deck found us anchored by the tiny island of Champion near Floreana (Charles) Island. Here we had a mission to find one of the rarest birds of the archipelago, the Floreana Mockingbird. It was the first mockingbird species described by Darwin and now only found on two tiny islands off the coast. Apparently Darwin’s reports say these birds were widespread across mainland Floreana, however it only took 50 years for the species to become extinct on the island (some people questions if they were ever numerous on the main island). During his travels he came across three other species of mockingbird in Galapagos. The differences in the three mockingbird species he saw triggered his idea that they all derived from a common ancestor, and that was used as part of his evidence for evolution by natural selection. So mockingbirds and not the finches! We started the day with a panga ride along the shores of this tiny island reserve where you are not allowed to land. However we can ride the panga close to shore and scan for the mockingbird. It took some time but finally we had really nice looks of this critically endangered bird. Success and breakfast! We navigated to Puerto Velasco Ibarra and our local bus was waiting for us to transfer us to the highlands of Floreana. Our first stop was in some highland agricultural area where we quickly lured a Paint-billed Crake into view as well as tracked down another critically endangered endemic, the Medium Tree Finch. After this we drove to Asilo de La Paz, yet another Giant Tortoise reserve where we saw more Paint-billed Crakes, many Small and a few Medium Tree Finches, Galapagos Flycatcher and a Dark-billed Cuckoo but our search for the roosting ‘Galapagos’ Short-eared Owl we saw at this location on the first tour was not successful. Now we missed the owl at both places where we saw it on the previous tour. But we never give up! We also built in a short snorkelling at the famous Devil’s Crown and after lunch we were cruising towards Isabela Island. It was a very pleasant afternoon with many birds. We had Band-rumped, Wedge-rumped and Elliot’s Storm Petrels, Waved Albatross, logged 23 Galapagos Petrels, a Pink-footed Shearwater and 487 Galapagos Shearwaters. We also had a few distant blows and finally saw at least one Bryde’s Whale. It was dark when we dropped anchor in the harbour of Puerto Villamil.

This morning we drove to Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela (Albemarle) Island. Our drive was eventful as a roadside ‘Galapagos’ Short-eared Owl was spotted! We got off the bus and after a few tense seconds the bird was relocated and allowed excellent looks as it was eating his freshly killed House Mouse (there are no endemic mouse on Isabela). We worked hard to find one without success and eventually we got it as a roadside bird! When we arrived to the final car park a fine male Darwin’s Flycatcher was located. This morning we had little excise as we walked all the way to the rim of the caldera, a pleasant 2,5 kilometre walk through birding habitat. On the first stretch a Paint-billed Crake gave us some excitement but it was quickly identified so the hopes for the Galapagos Crake evaporated. We never heard a single one of them during the morning. On the walk we had good looks of the productus subspecies of Woodpecker Finch and several more Darwin’s Flycatcher including some photogenic males. Sierra Negra or Black Volcano is a large shield volcano at the south-eastern end of Isabela Island that rises to an altitude of 1124m. The caldera itself is 7,2 x 9,3 kilometre. It is one of the most active of the Galapagos volcanoes with the most recent historic eruption beginning in June 2018 and continuing through the summer. We had no volcanic activity this year but had great looks of the lava flows and great birding on our walk in and out. It was a very nice morning in a very special habitat and landscape. On our way back we had the galapagensis race of White-cheeked Pintails, some pink American Flamingos and some waders along the beach. We were back to Nemo for a late lunch and we soon started cruising west along the south side of Isabela, we had a long way to go until next morning. It was an exciting and special afternoon with many seabirds. The biggest experience was seen as many as 49 White-faced Storm Petrels in a short section. This is a rather rare bird (three stars on our checklist) and it later turned out that this observation represent the biggest ever gathering recorded on the Galapagos Islands. Needless to say we had many great looks and enjoyed the characteristic feeding action of these little seabirds. The other three storm petrel species was also numerous this afternoon! We also logged 57 Galapagos Petrels, a Sooty Shearwater as well as 266 Galapagos Shearwaters. A few jumping rays were also seen along this water body.

Dawn on the deck found us in Tagus Cove well north along the western side of Isabela. No doubt we had some really exciting targets for today! Birds you cannot see without visiting this part of the Galapagos. And all those birds are special indeed, the rare Galapagos Martin which has probably less than 250 individuals, the largest and the only flightless cormorant in the World with amazing blue eyes and the Galapagos Penguin which is the only penguin species which may be seen north of the Equator if you lucky. Well, all three of these special birds were found in our first 30 minutes at this special location. We saw almost twice as many Galapagos Martins at the breeding cliff than two weeks ago. We counted a total of 19 individuals and about half of them were juveniles! We got decent views of the Galapagos Penguins as well. After this great morning we sailed to Punta Espinosa on Fernandina (Narborough) Island. A short walk at this location gave us a few extra waders such as Semipalmated Plover and Ruddy Turnstone, scope views of Flightless Cormorants, Galapagos Hawk and many Marine Iguanas. Although last time we have found no snakes at this location this time was different. We had excellent looks of both Fernandina and Slevin’s Snakes. This was the location where they filmed the snakes going after the baby iguanas for the Attenborough film. Following our landing, we also had a superb snorkelling session ‘swimming with the Marine Iguanas’! After a short boat ride we arrived to Punta Vicente Rocha back on Isabela. This was our last stop of the day and a panga ride gave us the best looks of Flightless Cormorants. There were also many Green Turtles and snorkelling with them was remarkable. Late afternoon we started cruising north seeing many seabirds again, we logged 42 Galapagos Petrels, 248 Brown Noddies and 1012 Galapagos Shearwaters. By dusk we reached Albemarle point, the northern tip of Isabela. This was followed by dinner and a rough night on sea.

Our last morning on deck was near Daphne Major Island and this time we were not anchored but still cruising towards Baltra Island where our cruise has started. Sadly our time on Nemo III. has ended and after breakfast we said good bye to the fantastic crew and were on our way to Media Luna on the island of Santa Cruz (Indefatigable). We had a full day to explore this second largest island of the archipelago and to find a few really tricky birds. We hiked up on the trail to Media Luna. The weather was not very cooperative though with mist and limited visibility. Most probably due to these weather conditions however we managed to get good looks of Galapagos Crakes as they were walking on the trail! This slat-bluish bird with a piercing red eye and spotted wings is one of the more difficult endemics to see. But we were lucky and we saw them fairly low elevation – without much hiking! We also had several Woodpecker Finches, the nominate pallidus subspecies here as well as many Green Warbling Finches. Our next port of call was a Quarry area which was very birdy and we had superb looks of Vegetarian Finch and Dark-billed Cuckoo here! Next we visited the Los Gemelos area in search of the rare Large Tree Finch. We were not lucky and we had no sign of this scarce finch. We decided it was time for lunch, but before we arrived to our restaurant we found a roosting American Barn Owl, the endemic punctatissima race. Nice looking bird and always good to see a Tyto anywhere in the World! At our lunch place we saw many Giant Tortoises, some huge individuals. In the ‘garden’ of the restaurant right by the national park they planted many fruiting trees and the tortoise spend a lot of time here. They were really impressive indeed! We were back to the forest after lunch but still not a sniff of Large Tree Finch however we got excellent looks of ‘Galapagos’ Short-eared Owl again! We had to change strategy and drove to a different location in hope of our last Darwin’s finch. Weather was improving at slightly lower elevation and after much search in the very last minute of the day we finally located a Large Tree Finch. First it was skittish and elusive so not everybody got good looks but at the end it was singing and posing right in front of us! Success! We drove to Puerto Ayora where we had a final dinner remembering all the amazing adventures we have done on this action-packed birding holiday. Next morning we had a leisure breakfast and packing and we were soon on our way to the airport with a short stop to admire some lava tunnels. We said good bye to our very helpful, knowledgeable guide Jairo who made a big effort to make the tour successful. Our 2022 Galapagos II. tour has also finished and we can certainly conclude we saw all the birds we wanted, and we had a keen and lovely group of birders and photographers!

BIRDS OF THE TOUR

1st: Waved Albatross

2nd: Blue-footed Booby

3rd: White-faced Storm Petrel

4th: Galapagos Penguin

4th: Swallow-tailed Gull & Red-footed Booby

SYSTEMATIC LIST OF SPECIES RECORDED

BIRDS

White-cheeked Pintail Anas bahamensis Both bahamensis and galapagensis seen on Isabela.

Smooth-billed Ani  Crotophaga ani

Dark-billed Cuckoo  Coccyzus melacoryphus  We had repeated excellent looks on San Cristóbal, Floreana and Santa Cruz.

Galapagos Dove ◊  Zenaida galapagoensis  Endemic. Common.

Paint-billed Crake ◊  Neocrex erythrops  Excellent looks on Floreana and on Isabela

Common Gallinule  Gallinula galeata

Galapagos Crake ◊  Laterallus spilonota  Endemic. Two were seen on Santa Cruz. Vulnerable

American Flamingo ◊ (Caribbean F)  Phoenicopterus ruber

American Oystercatcher (Galapagos Oystercatcher)  Haematopus [palliatus] galapagensis  Endemic race, about 13 were seen on various islands.

Black-necked Stilt  Himantopus mexicanus

Grey Plover (Black-bellied P)  Pluvialis squatarola

Semipalmated Plover  Charadrius semipalmatus

Hudsonian Whimbrel  Numenius hudsonicus

Ruddy Turnstone  Arenaria interpres

Wandering Tattler  Tringa incana

Brown Noddy (Common N)  Anous stolidus

Swallow-tailed Gull ◊  Creagrus furcatus  Beautiful! Hundreds were seen.

Lava Gull ◊  Leucophaeus fuliginosus  Endemic. About 17 were seen. Vulnerable.

Red-billed Tropicbird  Phaethon aethereus

Galapagos Penguin ◊  Spheniscus mendiculus  Endemic. Excellent looks but only six were seen on Isabela. Endangered.

Elliot’s Storm Petrel ◊ (White-vented S P)  Oceanites gracilis  Common.

White-faced Storm Petrel ◊  Pelagodroma marina  An amazing 49 were seen on the south side of Isabela. This is the largest number ever recorded on the Galapagos to my knowledge on a single afternoon.

Waved Albatross ◊  Phoebastria irrorata  Endemic. Amazing on Espanola! Critically endangered.

Band-rumped Storm Petrel ◊  Hydrobates castro  About 34 were seen.

Wedge-rumped Storm Petrel ◊  Hydrobates tethys  Amazing to see the breeding colony on Genovesa. Unforgettable!

Galapagos Petrel ◊  Pterodroma phaeopygia  Endemic. A total of 151 were logged. Critically endangered.

Sooty Shearwater  Ardenna grisea  One was seen along the southern shores of Isabela.

Pink-footed Shearwater ◊  Ardenna creatopus  One was seen on our way to Isabela. Vulnerable.

Galapagos Shearwater ◊  Puffinus subalaris  Endemic. Common.

Magnificent Frigatebird  Fregata magnificens

Great Frigatebird  Fregata minor

Blue-footed Booby ◊  Sula nebouxii

Nazca Booby ◊  Sula granti  Common.

Red-footed Booby ◊  Sula sula  Common on Genovesa.

Flightless Cormorant ◊  Nannopterum harrisi  Endemic. Those blue eyes! A total of 27 were seen. Vulnerable

Yellow-crowned Night Heron  Nyctanassa violacea

Lava Heron ◊  Butorides sundevalli  Endemic. Several sightings throughout.

Western Cattle Egret  Bubulcus ibis

Great Blue Heron  Ardea herodias

Brown Pelican  Pelecanus occidentalis

Galapagos Hawk ◊  Buteo galapagoensis  Endemic. A total of nine were seen. Vulnerable.

American Barn Owl* ◊ (Galapagos B O)  Tyto [furcata] punctatissima  This endemic race was seen well on Santa Cruz.

Short-eared Owl ◊ (Galapagos S E O)  Asio [flammeus] galapagoensis  Endemic race. Amazing looks on Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela with a catch. Later two more were seen on Santa Cruz as well.

Darwin’s Flycatcher ◊ (Galapagos Vermilion F)  Pyrocephalus nanus  Endemic. A total of five were seen on Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela. Vulnerable.

Galapagos Flycatcher ◊  Myiarchus magnirostris  Endemic. Just small numbers were seen.

Galapagos Martin ◊  Progne modesta  Endemic. Excellent looks of 19 birds in Tagus Cove on Isabela. On this second tour we saw freshly fledged individuals. Endangered.

Galapagos Mockingbird ◊  Mimus [parvulus] parvulus  Endemic. Seen well on Isabela and Santa Cruz.

Galapagos Mockingbird ◊  Mimus [parvulus] barringtoni  Endemic. Seen well on Santa Fé.

Galapagos Mockingbird ◊  Mimus [parvulus] bauri  Endemic. Great looks on Genovesa. Potential split.

Floreana Mockingbird ◊  Mimus trifasciatus  Endemic.  Four were seen on Champion Island near Floreana Island. Endangered.

Espanola Mockingbird ◊ (Hood M)  Mimus macdonaldi  Endemic. Common. Vulnerable.

San Cristobal Mockingbird ◊ (Chatham M)  Mimus melanotis  Endemic. Several seen on San Cristóbal.

Mangrove Warbler  Setophaga petechia  Common. Subspecies aureola. 

Green Warbler-Finch ◊ (Olive W-F)  Certhidea olivacea  Endemic. First seen on Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela. Vulnerable.

Grey Warbler-Finch ◊ (Dusky W-F)  Certhidea [fusca] mentalis  Endemic. Four were seen on Genovesa.

Grey Warbler-Finch (Dusky W-F)  Certhidea [fusca] luteola  Endemic. About four were seen on San Cristóbal.

Grey Warbler-Finch ◊ (Dusky W-F)  Certhidea [fusca] cinerascens  Endemic. About 12 were seen on Espanola.

Grey Warbler-Finch ◊ (Dusky W-F)  Certhidea [fusca] bifasciata  Endemic. Just one was seen on Santa Fé Island.

Vegetarian Finch ◊  Platyspiza crassirostris  Endemic. A fine male was seen on Santa Cruz. Great looks!

Medium Tree Finch ◊  Camarhynchus pauper  Endemic. Eight were seen very well on Floreana. Critically endangered.

Woodpecker Finch ◊  Camarhynchus [pallidus] pallidus  Endemic. Several seen on Santa Cruz.

Woodpecker Finch ◊  Camarhynchus [pallidus] productus  Endemic. Many seen on Sierra Negra Volcano on Isabela.

Woodpecker Finch ◊  Camarhynchus [pallidus] striatipecta  Endemic. Four were seen on San Cristóbal.

Small Tree Finch ◊  Camarhynchus parvulus  Endemic. First seen on Floreana.

Small Tree Finch ◊  Camarhynchus [parvulus] salvini  Endemic. Three were seen on San Cristóbal.

Large Tree Finch ◊  Camarhynchus psittacula  Endemic. It was very hard work but eventually a male was seen on Santa Cruz. Vulnerable.

Small Ground Finch ◊  Geospiza fuliginosa  Endemic. Common except on Genovesa.

Genovesa Ground Finch ◊  Geospiza acutirostris  Endemic. Several were seen on Genovesa. Vulnerable.

Espanola Cactus Finch ◊  Geospiza conirostris  Endemic. Common on Espanola. Vulnerable.

Genovesa Cactus Finch ◊  Geospiza propinqua  Endemic. Common on Genovesa. Vulnerable.

Large Ground Finch ◊  Geospiza magnirostris  Endemic.  Fairly common on Genovesa, rare elsewhere.

Common Cactus Finch ◊  Geospiza scandens  Endemic. Regularly seen, first on Santa Fé Island.

Medium Ground Finch ◊  Geospiza fortis  Endemic. Regularly seen.

MAMMALS

Galapagos Fur Seal  Arctocephalus galapagoensis  Endemic. About 12 were seen on Genovesa.

Galapagos Sea Lion  Zalophus wollebaeki  Endemic. Common.

Bryde’s Whale (Tropical W)  Balaenoptera brydei  Minimum one was identified on our way from Floreana to Isabela.

Short-beaked Common Dolphin  Delphinus delphis 

House Mouse (introduced)  Mus musculus

REPTILES

Galápagos Giant Tortoise  Chelonoidis nigra  Endemic.

San Cristobal Tortoise  Chelonoidis chatamensis  Endemic.

Green Turtle  (Pacific G T/Black T)  Chelonia mydas

Galápagos Lava Lizard  Tropidurus albemarlensis   Endemic.

Floreana Lava Lizard  Tropidurus grayi  Endemic.

Española Lava Lizard  Tropidurus delanonis  Endemic.

San Cristóbal Lava Lizard  Tropidurus bivattatus  Endemic.

Land Iguana  Conolophus subcristatus  Endemic.

Santa Fé Land Iguana  Conolophus pallidus  Endemic.

Marine Iguana  Amblyrhynchus cristatus  Endemic.

Fernandina Snake  Alophis dorsalis occidentalis  Endemic.

Slevin’s Snake  Pseudalsophis slevini  Endemic.

FISHES

White-tipped Reef Shark  Triaenodon obesus

Blacktip Reef Shark  Carcharhinus limbatus

Galapagos Shark  Carcharhinus galapagensis

Scalloped Hammerhead  Sphyrna lewini

Golden Ray  Rhinoptera steindachneri

Spotted Eagle Ray  Aetobatus narinari  Endangered.

Devil Ray  Mobula mobular  Endangered.

Manta Ray  Mobula birostris  Endangered.

Diamond Sting-ray  Dasyatis dipterura

Moon Fish  Lampris guttatus

BUTTERFLIES

American Painted Lady  Vanessa virginiensis

Cloudless Sulphur  Phoebis sennae marcelliana

Monarch Butterfly  Danaus plexippus

Queen Butterfly  Danaus gilippus thersippus

Galapagos Blue  Leptotes parrhasioides  Endemic.

‘Galapagos’ Long-tailed Skipper  Urbanus dorantes galapagensis

OTHER ARTHROPODS and INSECTS

Darwin’s Goliath Centipede  Scolopendra galapagoensis  This amazing creature was seen on Espanola.

Small Painted Locust  Schistocerca literosa

Large Painted Locust  Schistocerca melanocera