GALAPAGOS BIRD CENSUS
Reported by Ron Sjostedt and Naturalist Net

The 1998 censi of the respective species have recently been completed and here is a simple summary of the results:

3 Species Census

Species	1996	1997	1998
Penguins	933	1284	444
Cormorants	1088	829	729
Flamingos	406	418	380

As you can see, some of the effects are very dramatic, in others, no statistically significant change (for a wild population).

PENGUINS:
After a number of years of steady increase following the 1982-83 El Nino, the Penguin population suffered a severe drop off and is now one-third of what is was a year ago. Please remember that the census in the case of the Penguins is based on "birds seen" and only reflects a portion of the true population (10-20%); however, one can compare the censi year-to-year to get an idea of population trends.

CORMORANTS:
This census may represent as much as 90% of the total population, which would appear to bode ill for the Cormorant, as their numbers are dropping! However, there is a promising trend that has yet to be reflected in their population numbers (of adults) and that is of nesting activity. In 1997, there were only 64 nests counted, but in 1998 there were 251 active nests counted. So it is very likely that we will see recruitment from the offspring of this nesting activity reflected in next year's adult population, and we hope to see a reversal of the downward trend.

FLAMINGOS:
The range that has been seen over the last 3 years of 380-423 could be considered normal variation within the population. This year, we have seen a lot of successful nesting at Bainbridge Rock, where approximately 12 offspring are surviving to juvenile state, so it would appear that the population is relatively stable and unaffected by the Nino.

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