June 14-24, 2025 with Mitch Lysinger
We loved the Galapagos Islands, and how couldn’t we?! The Enchanted Islands are without doubt one of the premier destinations to get away and dive headfirst - sometimes literally! - right into the middle of where the wildlife is abundant and unafraid of humans. From the moment of arrival to the airport on Baltra, one feels as if having arrived to a different world; even the airport is designed ecologically and state-of-the-art. Once we met up with our guide, Jimmy, and some of the crew, we were whisked away to the Nemo III, our comfortable boat and home for the next seven nights, and for the trip of a lifetime!
North Seymour Island:
After a welcome lunch and briefing, we motored around to North Seymour, our first island hop, for our first look around and close-encounters with nesting frigatebirds, Swallow-tailed Gulls, Lava Herons (now apparently officially split from the Striated Heron), courting Blue-footed Boobies right on the trail, Galapagos Land Iguanas and even a good-sized Central Galapagos Racer at our feet on the beach. As the sun started to dip behind the horizon, it was time to get back to the boat and get settled in, officially meet the crew over a welcome drink and prepare for the long navigation to Genovesa Island in the northern part of the archipelago.
Genovesa Island:
Genovesa (Tower) Island was our first full day in the archipelago and one of the most spectacular. Waking up in the crater of Darwin Bay, surrounded by seabird colonies, was certainly one of the most awe-inspiring experiences of the trip, with thousands of circling Red-footed and Nazca Boobies and Frigatebirds, among other seabirds, and especially with a hot cup of coffee in hand. This island is host to one of the world’s largest colonies of Red-footed Boobies, and we were treated to many close encounters with nesting birds along the island’s trails, mostly of the brown variety. One of the highlights of Genovesa is the Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel colony that we hiked to on the east side of the island along the Prince Phillip’s Steps trail. It was a surreal and fulfilling feeling to be surrounded by clouds of these small seabirds as they whirled past us over their lava rock breeding grounds. The Short-eared Owls that prey on unlucky storm-petrels out on the lava flats add an element of suspense, and we did witness a capture or two, seeing one owl at very close range as it sought out some shade from the sun under an island of trees. We also had our first real go at the Darwin’s Finches, finding the two endemic species to the island rather easily for excellent views, the Genovesa Cactus-Finch and the Genovesa Ground-Finch, as well as the subspecies of Gray Warbler Finch only found on this island. We also had our first stab at snorkeling, seeing some wonderful fish, including Moorish Idol and parrotfish. After a leisurely walk along the beaches, mangrove edges and tide pools at Darwin Beach for nice looks at Lava Gull, more nesting Red-footed Boobies and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, it was time to get back to the boat for the long ride ahead to get around the northern point of Isabela Island, but we took advantage of some pelagic birding along the way and got familiar with some of the island’s more common species.
Isabela and Fernandina Islands (Bolivar Channel):
Our panga ride along the rocky shoreline at Punta Vicente Roca, near the northern tip of Isabela in the early morning clinched our first views of Galapagos Penguin and Flightless Cormorant, two birds whose populations are largely based around Isabela and Fernandina Islands – especially the Bolivar Channel - where the water temperatures tend to be cooler. After a cruise between the two islands, and a search for Galapagos Martin around Tagus cove, we set our sights on Fernandina Island, across the channel. We strolled through the large colonies of Marine Iguanas at Punta Espinosa, and had some fabulous encounters with the Western Galapagos Racer as it prowled across the white sandy beach. We finished up the hike with a short panga ride to find a close Flightless Cormorant, and did so wonderfully, some folks getting some super photos of a perched bird up on the lava rock right at eye level. Next up was a second round of snorkeling through the maze of narrow channels and tide pools, thanks to Jimmy’s knowledge of where to go(!) on the east side of the island where we swam with the sea lions, and tropical fish, and some even saw the penguins zipping by underneath us.
Isabela Island highlands (Puerto Villamil):
Today dawned as we motored along the southern coast of Isabela enroute to its port town, Puerto Villamil, where we had our first visit to the archipelago’s highlands. Unfortunately, our catamaran was limping along at a pace that the captain projected would get us there by around midday due to an ailing engine. But hey, there is always a solution, and we managed to call over a zippy motor skiff (for a little adventure on the high seas) to ferry us to town to greatly reduce the late arrival time! Once on land we wasted no time heading up to the highlands, up to the slopes of Sierra Negra Volcano. The highlands were to be our first stab at some highland finches, and even the rail (which we heard quite close), but we were simply too late to hope for that morning burst of activity, and things were on the quiet side. The one bird that is a must get here these days is the Brujo Flycatcher; in years past it was almost a sure thing in the highlands of Floreana and Santa Cruz, but they have sadly disappeared or seriously declined over the last couple of decades. Fortunately, they seem to be going strong on Isabela, and we had very nice encounters with a few pairs. Back down in the lowlands around the town, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the local marshes with American Flamingos and White-cheeked Pintails and our first Common Cactus-Finch. Back on board at dusk, we enjoyed a calm dinner in the harbor before cruising to Floreana Island.
Floreana and Champion Islands:
Floreana Island has seen a lot over the last couple of hundred years, from hosting tourists and other eccentric residents, to a newly founded conservation project aimed at preserving the endemic wildlife that still persists. Just recently biologists captured all of the Medium Tree-Finches – an island endemic - during a period of pest eradication, and then re-introduced them once the process was complete. Lucky for us our visit came after the intervention, and the population seems to be doing very well with plenty of active and vocal individuals up in the highlands. Another big find was the group of Paint-billed Crakes feeding out in the open like chickens at the entrance to the trail up to Asilo de la Paz. The female Purple Martin that came flying by at eye level was a big surprise, and an out-of-season stay-over, I presume; We sure wished that it had been a Galapagos Martin, the one possible endemic that eluded us!
Champion Island was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. For us birders it is a must visit for the endemic Floreana Mockingbird - the most distinctively plumaged of the mockers here in Galapagos - which we have to try and find from the boat since land visits are prohibited here. We did it though, and ended up with some pretty decent views of them as they perched up in beautiful afternoon light, and some even had them running about on the rocks not far from shore. What really stole the show though was the snorkeling along the perimeter of this small desert island. Here we had our first looks at Chocolate Chip Starfish, White-tipped Reef Shark and Hieroglyphic Hawkfish. The Red-billed Tropicbirds screaming and flying by in formation were also unforgettable.
Espanola Island:
Our visit to Española (Hood) Island was one of the best I’ve had in a while, and I believe it had to do with the scheduling change, flip-flopping morning and afternoon activities. I am accustomed to visiting Punta Suarez, the long hike to see the Waved Albatross, in the morning, but I’m glad we didn’t this time, and think that the afternoon visit was even better than in the morning, with active pairs of the albatross, and cooler weather… the light wasn’t too shabby either. But back to the beginning of the day, we started our day off with a relaxing stroll along one of Galapagos’ most beautiful white sand beaches at Gardner Bay, spending about an hour getting our first close views at the island’s couple of bird endemics, the comical Espanola Mockingbird, which greeted us almost the moment we touched land, and the chunky-billed Espanola Ground-Finch, which used to be lumped with the Genovesa Cactus-Finch and known as the Large Cactus-Finch. So, we all come out ahead with two different island endemics out of this split! There were also plenty of Gray Warbler-Finches - endemic island subspecies - as well as Small Ground-Finches. Espanola Island is also home to its own endemic tortoise species, but only recently has it been a possibility for visitors to see, thanks to the breeding/reintroduction program of the Charles Darwin Station. They are now breeding once again on the island, and the individual that we saw near the beach this morning coincides with the proper age for it having been naturally born on the island, about 5-6 years old, which is certainly exciting, and shows how an island that once was plagued by feral animals can rebound with a little help from its conservationist friends. Pre-lunch we had a spectacular snorkeling session around Gardner Island, where we had yet another wonderful array of marine wildlife, including, Scorpion Fish, known locally as pez brujo, a very popular dish at restaurants.
After a midday circumnavigation of Espanola Island, past Punta Cevallos - a spot I’d never seen, and where the albatross are most densely populated - we shared a wonderful afternoon with the Waved Albatross at the visitor spot known as Punta Suarez. Espanola is really their only nesting locality, apart from a pair or two that have tried to nest off of an island right off of the coast of Ecuador, so this is really a special place. Strolling amongst displaying pairs of these regal birds is such a privilege, and we were treated to some full courtship displays at point-blank range! We passed by the famous blowhole as the afternoon wore on and had our final visits with nesting Nazca and Blue-footed Boobies as we made our way along the trail back around to the dock.
San Cristobal Island:
The next day it was back to the “big city” in the morning, hopping onto land at Galapagos’ capital on San Cristóbal Island, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. The island’s second largest town is a bustling place and fun to spend some time at, but we had big birding business: the island endemic San Cristóbal Mockingbird, which we did find early on in the highlands, although I was surprised at how few there were though in general. We spent the rest of our morning trying to drag in some finches, and succeeded finding the island endemic subspecies of Woodpecker Finch and Small Tree-Finch, the Woodpecker possibly up for a split someday, so watch for this. We did all that we could to score a Vegetarian Finch, but they seem to have gotten much rarer of late on this island. But not to worry – have to have a little suspense! - because Santa Cruz is still the silver bullet… at least I hoped it was going to be! As the temperatures started to warm up it was time to get back our boat for the midday cruise over to Santa Fe Island, where we would be getting back to an island without inhabitants, and few visitors. On the way over from San Cristobal some of us had the good fortune to spot a couple of pelagic birds that we don’t always see: Markham’s and White-faced Storm-Petrels, within about 30 minutes of each other. While both sightings were close to the boat, there were fast-moving, so one had to be both attentive and in the right spot to see them. We also had our farewell views at Waved Albatross.
Santa Fe Island:
After a morning birding mostly out of a bus on San Cristobal, it was nice to return to a place with no roads or towns. Once in the picturesque and sheltered bay at Santa Fé, it was time for our final bout of snorkeling, and what a go it was, with some great looks at Tiger Snake Eel and Spotted Eagle Ray. Our short afternoon hike here took us along a rocky trail that leads into a stand of giant cactus trees, the largest we had seen, which felt somehow like something out of the days of the dinosaurs. The only real species level, island-endemic critter here is the Santa Fé Land Iguana that hangs out under these large cactus trees hoping for a fruit or cactus pad to drop off and make their month, and we had a few right at our feet along the trail. Just to help round out our finch list, we tagged in with nice looks at the subspecies of Gray Warbler-Finch endemic to this island as well. As the sun set, we headed back to the boat to start the final leg of our journey by sea, scheduled to anchor sometime pre-dawn in the Itabaca Channel between northern Santa Cruz and southern Baltra. The days seemed to pass all too quickly, and it was already almost time to say farewell to our boat and wonderful crew. We enjoyed a farewell cocktail with the crew, and shared with them some of our most memorable experiences of the trip as we cruised.
Santa Cruz Island:
Today it was time to jump ship one last time for a full day and night on the big central island of the archipelago, Santa Cruz, and this needed to be a big cleanup day for some key bird endemics, and it ended up being exactly what we needed. As we made our way up into the highlands, we made a first stop in the transitional zone along a side road that came through for us on my last tour for Vegetarian Finch. Things were drippy and very windy, but we gave it a try. And what do you know? Essentially the first bird that we saw was a female Vegetarian Finch in the same tree where it was two years before… now this is what I call a stake-out! From here we dashed across the island to search for a Galapagos Rail since we dipped on seeing it on Isabela. Santa Cruz is an especially interesting island since it protects some of the most accessible and intact native habitats of the highlands. Where we search for the rail is known as Media Luna - the Miconia zone, with those lower stature trees with dull purplish leaves - and the national park has done a fine job of getting rid of the invasive quinine tree that we saw numerous examples of on the hike up. The steep hike up to the rail area isn’t particularly difficult, but it was rainy and the trail itself muddy and slick in places. Under the tough conditions, we did what we could. The rails were around, and we must have located about three by voice, but seeing them this trip proved tougher than other years, with only about five folks getting a look when one popped into a hole in the understory for a moment. The weather and the overall mood of the birds made it hard to stay around and continue the search, so we made our way back down the volcano to go search for our last bird endemics – two finches, of course! - sprinkled with some other goodies. Our guide recommended a spot, Cerro Mesa, that I had never been to, and it sounded promising since he said it had Large Tree-Finch and Giant Tortoises, and was only a short drive away. So, we gave it a gamble, and I’m glad we did! Once there, and just barely out of the vehicle, we connected with a couple of Large Ground-Finches feeding right on the fringes of the parking lot shoulder-to-shoulder with some Medium Ground-Finches for some convenient comparisons. This was a major stroke of luck since we had missed them already on Genovesa and Isabela, the two best spots for them on the tour. Just a short stroll up the track from here, there was a wild individual of one of the two species of giant tortoise to be found on Santa Cruz waiting for us, the Don Fausto’s Giant Tortoise, and it was a decent-sized individual as well. After some selfies with this guy, we continued on into a healthy stand of Scalesia forest, a native highland life zone characterized by its medium-sized, moss covered trees draped with epiphytes. It was here that we hoped to land our last species of the Darwin’s Finches, the Large Tree-Finch. After some nice review studies at a few finches that we had already become familiar with – namely Vegetarian, Woodpecker and Small-Tree – we hit our target, clinching smashing views of a female Large Tree-Finch as it fed about right along the track overhead in the Scalesia trees! As we had discussed a few times, it is now essentially impossible to make a clean sweep of the finches, but we did the best we could, nailing all of the species possible on the islands that we hit.
After a delicious and relaxing lunch at a peaceful restaurant in the highlands, we headed down to the largest town on Galapagos, Puerto Ayora, situated right on beautiful Academy Bay, and our hotel for the night was ideally located, with gorgeous views of the bay. We finished our day with a visit to the famous Charles Darwin Station where we had a firsthand look at the giant tortoise breeding program and made the pilgrimage to see the Lonesome George mausoleum in his final resting place. Afterwards we disbanded until dinner for some relaxation and some time to soak in the island life (and shopping!) that abounds, for those interested.
Other critters that we enjoyed crossing paths with over the course of the trip include the variety of Lava Lizard species, many of them island endemics; Marine Iguanas as stone-faced as any animal could be, seemingly relaxed in any situation; those insanely-colorful Sally Lightfoot Crabs; and Sea Lions as constant companions, whether while snorkeling, hanging out on a dock or lining a remote sandy beach. But the most important critters were you guys, and I thank you for making this trip such a blast to lead once again!
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/423351
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/gal25aTRIPLIST.pdf
-- Mitch Lysinger