Galapagos Conditions August 14, 1999
Click below for last report and comparisons Cargo Ship Luis Felipe goes aground (plus correction - Villamil is on Isabela and not San Cristobal!) There will be another update after August 22 that will be more complete.
Galapagos is now in full Garua season. The highlands of Santa Cruz are covered with mist for the first "normal" garua season in 2 years. The water temperatures are generally cold and the conditions are back to what most inhabitants would say are normal after 2 years of Niño anomalies. The air temperatures over the past week have averaged 72 to 75 F. at midday (22.2 to 23.9 C.) Lowland areas get morning and afternoon garua with most weather and animal populations back to seasonal norms. Big bull sea lions are at many of the breeding beaches now after "disappearing" from most over the past year. More specifics are below....
(Note: Now, bottom temperatures are recorded at most anchorages up to 100 feet)
Aug-8-99
Tower
75 F. (23.9 C.) surface tempThere are no male Great Frigates displaying now as would be expected but the colony is full of adults and chicks. There are many chicks more than about 3 weeks old.
Prince Phillip Steps
The Masked Booby colony is fully occupied and with eggs. Wedge Rumped Storm Petrels are present and breeding.
Aug-9-99
Fernandina - Punta Espinoza
water temperature 68 F. (20 C.) at the surface and 62 F. (16.7) at 20 ft (6 m)
The snorkeling at Punta Espinoza was as good as it gets. The clarity of the water was excellent and there were large numbers of marine iguanas feeding on the algal beds along with East Pacific Green Sea Turtles. There were no penguins seen (and have not been present for the past few visits). Flightless Cormorants are breeding at the point just south of the visitor site. 7 pairs have nest and 3 with chicks. There are no cormorants nesting at the visitor site now.Isabela - Tagus Cove
water temperature 68 F. (20 C.) at the surface and 60 F. (15.6 C.)at 50 feet (15 meters)Goats are still present and using the tourist trail. Several herds can be seen from the landing.
Aug-10-99
Puerto Egas - Santiagowater temp 69 F. (20.6) surface and 68 (20 C.) at 33 feet (10 m)
Bartolome
water temp 70 F. (21.1 C.) at the surface and 55 F.(12.8 C.) at depth!
6 penguins seen at the visitor siteAug-11-99
North Seymourwater temp 70 F. (21.1 C.)
Blue Footed Boobies have been successfully breeding over the past 2 months but all with chicks older than 2 weeks are only raising one chick. There are larger numbers of Magnificent Frigates
South Plaza
water temp at surface 70 F. (21.1 C.) and 63 at 33 feet (10 m)The Land Iguanas are now much more concentrated on the western end of the island. For the past year, they have been much more spread out over the island. There continues to be very few bachelors at the sea lion bachelor colony compared to pre-Niño
8-12-99
Punta Cormorantwater temp 67 F. (19.4 C) at the surface and 64 F. (17.8 C.) at the bottom of Devils Crown (outside)
1 Greater Flamingo was feeding in the lagoon but normal numbers of white cheeked pintails and Common Stilts.
8-13-99
Gardner Baywater temp 67 F. (19.4 C.) at the surface and 64 F. (17.8) at 33 feet
Punta Suarez
water temp 63 F. (17.2 C.) at the surface and 57 F. (13.9 C) at 33 feet (10 meters)
The Waved Albatross are doing well with the chicks at about 7 weeks of age. The Blue-footed Boobies are still courting but only a few with eggs. They seem to be courting for the past month and a half without much production. The Masked Boobies are also courting and nesting. The sea lion population is doing well with many pups being born in the past week. The bulls are also back with a large dominant beachmaster on each beach.
In general, the seasonal change has arrived. There is garua in the morning in many sites (most notably Tower, Floreana, and Española. The winds from the Southeast are getting stronger and the swell with it. The water is generally getting rougher. The air and water temperatures are also dropping. The lowest recorded water temperature at the surface was near Punta Espinoza at 67.3. The resulting air temperatures are quite cool and pleasant. As always, the drops in temperature can be seen by looking at the sea surface temperature satellite maps. Puerto Ayora is cool with clouds and garúa in the highlands and lower late in the day.
A dozen Waved Albatross chicks at about 2 weeks of age were near the trail at Punta Suarez. The adult pairs continue to dance. Large numbers of Blue Footed Boobies are courting and some already have eggs.
The Park personnel are continuing to "improve" some areas. New marker stakes are being placed at different trails and maintenance of docks is being carried out. The new cement dock at Punta Suarez had been all but washed away during El Niño. The XXII Naturalist Guide Course is also underway at the Galapagos National Park.
The cargo ship Luis Felipe went aground near the dock at Puerto Villamil, Isabela Sunday (June 27) There was no immediate spill of fuel but 6000 gallons of diesel are know to be aboard. The ship is stable for the moment. The ship was apparently carrying cement and the diesel is only its own fuel (not a tanker). Various methods have been considered for removing the fuel but, as of July 2, it has not been removed in order to avoid the greater risk of spilling it without proper equipment. A special group from Guayaquil was sent June 30 to assess the situation. Equipment to transfer the fuel safely is being sent out to the islands from Guayaquil.
Preliminary reports say that the ship had mechanical problems upon leaving port in Guayaquil which continued on their arrival in Galapagos.
Some specific island notes:
6/20
Tower
water temp 73.5 F.
fewer displaying frigates now6/21
Fernandina
water getting colder - 67.3 F.Isabela
goats still near trail
woodpecker finches seen
penguin flocks with 2 young ones6/22
Puerto Egas - James
migrants gone
lots of fur seals
Oystercatchers with chicks (2 pairs)6/23
North Seymour
Blue Footed boobies courting and some with eggs
Plazas
water temp 71.1 F.
Sea lion population still reduced and very few bachelors
Land iguanas still spread all over the island6/24
Punta Cormorant- FloreanaOne Flamingo in the lagoon
still no sting rays
Devil's Crown temp 70.3 F.6/25
Gardner Bay - Hood
water temp 71.3 F.Punta Suarez - Hood
Albatross displaying in the afternoon. About a dozen nests near the trail with chicks about 2 weeks old
Masked boobies are nesting but no eggs.
Many blue footed boobies with the first eggs appearing.
June conditions
The conditions in Galapagos for the first week of June were great for visitor and fauna alike. Even though the sea surface temperature satellite maps show less warm water from the north and more cold water coming from the South, the sea surface temperatures are much the same as the past month. The central island sea surface temperatures are between 74 and 76 degrees F. (~23.3 and 24.4 C.) Some garua is starting to come in the mornings. The daytime air temperatures are still warm with clear days and scattered cumulus clouds.The Great Frigates at Tower are still displaying. Very few migrants are being seen as they complete their journeys north. Small numbers of Greater Flamingos are present at Punta Cormorant but no more than 10 have been there in the past months. The Blue-Footed Boobies are massing and nesting at Punta Suarez, Hood. There is a lot of dancing. These are largest numbers for approximately 2 years (pre-Niño). The Blue Foots at North Seymour have eggs now with some pairs still laying.
In the western islands, the Flightless Cormorants at Punta Espinosa are not nesting within the visitor site now but at least 6 pairs have chicks that can be seen on the approach to visitor landing dock. Tagus Cove still has large herds of goats roaming through the visitor site. They are obvious up on the hillsides along with their tracks on the visitor trail. The Brown Pelicans have finished their breeding attempt in the cove and the juveniles are fishing with the adults. Penguins are courting at Tagus Cove. The water temperature at Punta Espinosa was 69.5 F. on May 31. The algal beds have recovered nicely and large numbers of East Pacific Green Sea Turtles can be seen grazing. Port Jackson Sharks are being seen in larger numbers than normal.
There are some human caused changes lately. On June 2, parks wardens and workers were busy repairing the dock at South Plaza. Many new trail markers are in place now that put the cliff faces entirely off limits. (I can understand the safety issues but I shall miss viewing the red billed tropic birds, audubon shearwaters, and Swallow-tailed Gulls nesting). The road from the village in Puerto Ayora to the Park and Research Station have been widened with the ultimate goal to be paved. Again, I see that progress is inevitable but it would be nice to keep the same ambiance as the past with the road meandering through the mangroves. Many of the visitor trails have been "widened" too. Several perennial nesting spots for Red Footed Boobies were cut down on Prince Philip Steps on Tower.
Now that Sea Cucumber season is over at least, "the madness" has stopped. The boats seems to have gone back to port with their final loads of booty. It is still a moot point now as during the past week, I managed to find 3 individuals of the target commercial species while snorkeling near visitor sites. They have taken it all. There are varying reports on the death toll of the cucumber fisherman. At least 3 and possibly four have died from diving accidents directly related to sea cucumbering activities. Many more probably will have problems later on from embolisms with micro-bubbles in their blood stream. The divers were not using dive computers or even common sense in diving. They stayed at depth for long periods and then ascended rapidly with no decompression stops at all. Let's hope that this is last time that this "experiment" is tried.
