April 20, 1998Some of this report will be the same as the last where situations have not changed
THE WAVED ALBATROSS ARE RETURNING! On April 17 I observed 2 Waved Albatross making their "landing approaches" over the visitor site at Punta Suarez ,Española. There were none seen 2 days before so they are some of the first to arrive. Maybe they sense that things are returning to normal!?
On April 8, Luis Die observed a tornado form and last for over 10 minutes near South Plaza. He estimates that it was around 8 kilometers away. It never "touched down" though. He will be sending in a more complete report.
In general, it is still not nearly as rainy as I had expected and my observations are largely those of my last report. It is still quite hot and the water is very warm. The surface temperatures averaged between 85 and 87 degrees F. all over the archipelago (including the west). The thermocline is still quite depressed but with some areas having cooler water at snorkeling depths. The snorkeling is generally great island-wide with "tropical fish" doing well and phenomenal water temperatures and great clarity.
The skies are generally clear and the sun quite intense with cumulonimbus clouds building up near islands causing localized rainfall. The open sea is perhaps a bit rougher than normal for this time of year but quite within normal limits. There is a long high amplitude swell from the north that has a tendency to build up on exposed beaches into higher than normal surf. All of the islands are covered with large amounts of vegetation.
Specific observations follow:
April 12Tower - Darwin Bay
There are now many displaying Great Frigates along with a lot of Large Ground Finches and Sharp-Billed Ground Finches. It is now unusual to see a Warbler Finch while they are normally common near the coast. The water temperature was measured to be 86.5 degrees F. at the surface. Almost no adult Swallow Tailed Gulls are around but there are breeding Red Billed Tropic Birds in the cliff faces.
Tower - Prince Philip Steps
No storm petrels are nesting but three short eared owls were seen at the storm petrel nesting area. It is curious that although there is a lot of vegetation, there are basically no leaves on the Palo Santo trees.
April 13
Fernandina - Punta Espinoza
Flightless Cormorants roosting but no nesting at the visitor site. There are several active nests with chicks though appx one mile south. The marine iguanas are fairing poorly with reduced numbers and quite a few dead ones about.
Isabela - Tagus Cove
There is a definite trend for sudden downpours at Tagus Cove in the late afternoon. Only a couple of penguins penguins were seen in the cove. The Medium Ground Finches are doing well at all elevations.
April 14
Santiago - Puerto Egas
Only a couple of sea lions were seen but the numbers of fur seals in the grottos seemed to be about normal. Very few marine iguanas.
Bartolomé
Individual penguins were seen spread about. They appear to be healthy.
April 15North Seymour
Many great frigates were displaying with only a few magnificent frigates. There are very few sea lions and not the normal number of marine iguanas. Almost no swallow tailed gulls are about and none nesting. On the trip to South Plaza from North Seymour, there are numerous waterfalls on the cliffs of Santa Cruz!
South Plaza
Most sea lion pups are malnourished. Several females appear to be preventing their pups from feeding. The general population seems to very low. There are quite a few dead pups. We visited in the afternoon and normally the females would be coming back from feeding themselves and feeding the pups. There was almost none of this activity.
The land iguanas are still very spread out over the island. The vegetation is getting so high that it is getting harder to see them although many seem to prefer the trail. Only a couple of very skinny young marine iguanas were seen.
April 16Floreana - Punta Cormorant
12 Flamingos were in the lagoon. The numbers have been dropping over the past couple of months and continue to do so. The lagoon itself was at a high level and is quite fresh (to taste). The rains have been cutting ravines into the visitor trail. No stingrays have been seen at the stingray beach in quite a while. The water temperature in Devil's Crown is still around 86 degrees F. at the surface but there is a thermocline now. 2 Galapagos Penguins were seen in the crown!!
Black Beach
There is a continual stream now flowing out of the highlands and running into Black Beach.
April 17Española - Punta Suárez
This is the largest change from normal that I have seen on any island. Dense vegetation is all over the visitor site. The "new" part of the visitor trail is almost impassable from the foliage. Essentially all of the sea lions are gone or dead with lots of dead ones on the beaches. A few masked boobies are in the nesting area with no blue foots nesting (all of their traditional sites are completely overgrown too). Flocks of Red Tailed Tropic birds are common. Lots of small ground finches and Hood Island Mockingbirds are about but I saw only one warbler finch.
Española - Gardner bay
Lots of sea lions (75) were hauled up on the beach and mainly looking good. There were some pups with females. the surf seems to have died down some from previous weeks so that normal landings are possible. Much of the sand has been shifted on the beach though and a stream runs through it.
As always, this report is a general overview and impression. I am also concentrating on the differences from normal (or unexpected normality!) I am not attempting to make a census so if I don't mention an animal, it doesn't mean that it isn't there.