Our 2007 tour to the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador is being organized and conducted by an Ecuadorian birding tour operator. We are co-marketing this tour as a joint effort. The price is the same regardless of whether you register for the tour through us or directly through our partner company. The tour visits many of the major sites in the Galapagos and offers many photo opportunities as well as viewing much of Galapagos marine life, animals, and of course birds. Below is a description of the islands we visit while on tour.
San Cristobal Island
San Cristobal is the administrative center of the Galapagos Islands. Although it is the second most populous island in the Galapagos, it has its natural attractions. The Chatham Mockingbird nests only on San Cristobal, and several species of Darwin's finches can be seen there including Medium Ground-Finch, Small Ground-Finch, Vegetarian Finch, Small Tree-Finch, Woodpecker Finch, and Warbler Finch. The shallow waters of the bay are a good place to see Elliot's Storm-Petrel, as are shallow water bays of some other islands. A variety of seabirds can be seen in surrounding waters, including various petrels, Blue-footed Booby, and Nazca Booby.
Espanola (Hood) Island and Champion Islet
Espanola is best known as the primary nesting site of the Waved Albatross. The only other nesting site is on a small island off the coast of Ecuador. The albatrosses are nesting from mid-April through December. The island is also home to nesting colonies of Blue-footed Boobies and Nazca Boobies. Numerous Marine Iguanas are found on the rocky shoreline, as is true on other islands as well. Espanola is the only island where Hood Mockingbird occurs. Other seabirds found around the island include Galapagos Petrel, Elliot's Storm-petrel, Wedge-rumped Storm-petrel, Red-billed Tropicbird, Galapagos Shearwater, and Swallow-tailed Gull. Among the land birds found on the islandare Galapagos Hawk, Galapagos Dove, Small Ground-Finch, Large Cactus-Finch, and Warbler Finch.
Gardner Bay on the east side of the island is a favorite tourist attraction featuring white-sand beaches, a sea lion colony, and excellent snorkeling. Between October and December Galapagos Green Sea Turtles are commonly seen mating just off shore.
Floreana (Charles) Island and Champion Islet
Floreana Island is best know for its colorful history of pirates, whalers, convicts, and buccaneers who frequented the island in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Devil's Crown, located not far off shore, is an old eroded volcanic cone and offers probably the best snorkeling anywhere in the Galapagos. Here one can see a great variety of reef fish, garden eels that protrude from holes on the seabed, and in deeper waters farther out harmless hammerhead and reef sharks. Nearby Champion Islet is home to the Charles Mockingbird as well as a Galapagos Sea Lion rookery.
A number of marine birds can be seen around Floreana Island, including Galapagos Penguin, Red-billed Tropicbird, Blue-footed Booby, Nazca Booby, and Swallow-tailed Gull. Land birds on the island include Galapagos Flycatcher, Medium Ground-Finch, Small Ground-Finch, Medium Tree-Finch, and Small Tree-Finch.
Isabela Island
Isabela Island is located in the center of the Galapagos, near Fernandina, and is the largest island in the Galapagos. It is covered on the western side by fairly young lava fields that create a lunar-like landscape. The upwelling waters of the Cromwell Current off the west coast creates a feeding ground for whales, porpoises, and seabirds. This is the best place to see whales, including possibly Humpback Whales, Sperm Whales, Minke Whales, and Orcas. Located nearby is the largest nesting area for Galapagos Penguins and Flightless Cormorants. Also found on the island are American Flamingo, Lava Heron, Galapagos Dove, Dark-billed Cuckoo, Galapagos Mockingbird, Medium Ground-Finch, Small Ground-Finch, and Mangrove Finch. Thousands of Red-necked Phalaropes and much smaller numbers of Red Phalaropes can be seen flying over the ocean near the island. More tortoises are found on Isabela than all other islands combined.
Santa Cruz (Indefatigable) Island
Santa Cruz Island is the second largest and most populated island in the Galapagos. The Charles Darwin Research Station is located at Puerto Ayora on the island and is an international research center where scientific work on the islands is based.Darwin Station is an excellent place to see Giant Tortoises. These tortoises are also found in the highland tortoise reserve on the island. Marine Iguanas are quite common along the shores of nearby Academy Bay, though the population has been declining in recent years. Lava Herons and various seabirds and shorebirds are found in the area and nearby Tortuga Bay.
Las Bachas is a white sand beach on the north side of the island. It is best known as the nesting site for Galapagos Green Sea Turtles, which are mating and beginning to come ashore in November to lay their eggs. Birds found in the nearby lagoons include American Flamingo , the White-cheeked Pintail, and a variety of shorebirds. Colorful Sally Lightfoot Crabs are common on the beach.
The highlands are home to Galapagos Rail, Paint-billed Crake, and Galapagos Flycatcher as well as several species of Darwin's finches including Large Ground-Finch, Medium Ground-Finch, Small Ground-Finch, Vegetarian Finch, Large Tree-Finch, Small Tree-Finch, Woodpecker Finch, and Warbler Finch.
Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill) is a very dry habitat on Santa Cruz Island. The main attraction is the small population of Galapagos Land Iguanas found there. White-cheeked Pintail can be seen there, along with Large Ground-Finch and Common Cactus-Finch.
North Seymour Island and Bartolome Island
North Seymour is a small, flat island north of Baltra and Santa Cruz. The island hosts major nesting colonies of Magnificent Frigatebirds and Blue-footed Boobies. Other birds found there include Lava Heron, Lava Gull, Swallow-tailed Gull, Common Noddy, Small Ground-Finch, and Medium Ground-Finch.
Bartolome Island is another small island, this one located east of Santiago (James) Island. Bartolome is a rather barren, vegetation-less volcanic cone. It's the most visited island in the Galapagos and also the most photographed because of its stark pinnacle rocks. It's a popular snorkeling locale and is a major mating and nesting site of Green Sea Turtles. The most important birds of interest on the island are Galapagos Penguin and Galapagos Hawk.
Santa Fe (Barrington) Island
Santa Fe is a small island between Santa Cruz and San Cristobal. It's the geologically oldest island in the Galapagos. It's main attractions are superb snorkeling and an endemic population of Santa Fe Land Iguanas, which are found only there. The island is covered by Giant Opuntia Cactus forest and is home to Galapagos Hawk and Galapagos Mockingbird. Large numbers of Galapagos Sea Lions are found along the shoreline as are a number of seabirds including Swallow-tailed Gull and Red-billed Tropicbird.
