Small Island, Great Diversity, Extraordinary Scenery -- Isla Plaza Sur
South Plaza, Plazas, Galápagos
Ecuador-Galapagos 2018
24 February 2018
The morning
of our last day, the Letty is once
again joined by the Eric and Origin. As per usual we were the first
boat to unleash the pangas and reach the shore. Today we are at the Plazas –
specifically South Plaza Island, a very small island off the eastern side of
Santa Cruz. We had a normal welcome of Sea Lions laying on rocks. This dock is
often guarded by a very large and very alpha male [not the same one every time]. So alpha that it once jumped
in a panga. Our arrival was not as exciting, with the alpha male
establishing its presence only with swimming and barking. Even though South Plaza
Island is only 0.13 km2, we saw some amazing and less-occurring
phenomena.
There are
two islands/islets that compose the Plazas. We visited South Plaza, which is the only
visitor site. They were formed by geological uplift. The Southern side of the
islet has more uplift which form the giant cliffs that can be seen on the hike.
While The Galápagos Islands already seem to be a totally different world from
real life, this is the first time I felt like I actually landed on a totally
different planet. Red sesuvium with scattered prickly pear cactus covered the
landscape at the dock. The sesuvium shows that it has not rained on the island
during the current season – otherwise it would be green. I think the green
would have made the experience feel less interstellar.
This would
be our first opportunity to see the endemic Galápagos Land Iguana in the wild.
We saw one male two days ago at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa
Cruz two days prior. We saw plenty of iguanas today but we also observed even
more Swallow-tailed Gulls. These coastal, distinctive-colored birds have red
feet and legs plus a defined red ring around their eyes that resembles lips.
They are the only nocturnal gull in the world and hunt along cliffs at night.
They also mate for life. The island is perfect for their population due to the
high cliffs, available nesting areas, and lack of predators.
Speaking of
lack of predators – this is the reason why the land iguana population has
become so abundant. The Galápagos hawk used to reside on the island but no
longer does allowing the land iguanas to reproduce in peace. We see many males
and females as we walk around the vegetated part of the island. The males are
much more brightly colored and their coloration also changes depending on the
timeframe of the mating season, which is occurring now. The swallow-tailed
gulls are also currently mating as we see pairs together on nests. Many
bachelors and bachelorettes are spotted too such as this lady iguana patiently
waiting on a rock looking very pretty.
Land iguanas
dig holes for sleeping. This is one of many key differences between land and
marine iguanas. Marine iguanas pile together at night to keep warm while a land
iguana will sleep underground in a comfy hole.
As far as
diet is concerned, Land Iguanas eat invertebrates while young and then
switch over to a vegetarian diet once they grow up. They like to feast on
opuntia cactus flowers as demonstrated by the photos of this iguana who was
clumsily struggling to get her meal. We saw about three unsuccessful attempts, the first occurred as we walked by without cameras ready.
Attempt #2
Attempt #3
Oops!
We reach the
top of the cliffs where a pleasant breeze temporarily cools us off. Here
is where we got to see the native Red-billed Tropicbird. These birds have a
bright red beak, mostly white plumage, and two very long tailfeathers that make
their flying style very graceful. They plunge into the water to feed on small
fish and fly around cliff areas where they place their nesting grounds.
There were
two Red-billed Tropicbirds flying around but also close to fifty or so other
birds – mostly the Swallow-tailed Gull. There were potentially Galápagos Shearwater and Noddies mixed in as well.
As we
continue our walk we find a female land iguana digging a hole in order to lay
eggs.
At one of
the last cacti [or cactuses....by the way - what do you think the plural of isthmus is?] before they stop occurring as frequently, a young Cactus
Ground Finch is obnoxiously screeching at his parent for food. Not only do they
eat opuntia, they also nest in it too.
We come
across a nest of a pair of Swallow-tailed Gull. It is obviously a nest because
an egg is visible. I guess laying behind it works just as well as sitting on
it. A third bird arrives making the parents very angry. They both show
aggression towards the third bird to make it go away, leaving the egg
unprotected. Fortunately their negligence turned out okay because the egg was
untouched.
Now we see
an initiative to grow more opuntia. There is a significantly small percentage
of the original amount of opuntia on the island. This was a result of a rodent
problem. In 2012, they de-rodented many of the Galapagos islands, including South
Plaza.
We see
another hungry juvenile bird but this time it is a Swallow-tailed Gull. This
one was also being obnoxious towards his/her parents but was old enough to
have feathers and be almost the size of an adult.
 |
| juvenile Swallow-tailed Gull, South Plaza, Galapagos |
 |
| "I don't mean to bother you, Mom, but I'm HUNGRY. And my feathers won't let me fly yet." As Dad stays out of it... |
Meanwhile as
Pepe talks about something, a Yellow Warbler hops and flutters around.
Instead of
packed clay, the trail turns into small boulders of what everyone supposedly
thinks is some sort of white lava. Wrong. It is in fact solidified Sea Lion
poop.
Which brings us back to the lower coast where several momma and youth sea lions are napping. Alpha male is swimming laps. Then we see….
Which brings us back to the lower coast where several momma and youth sea lions are napping. Alpha male is swimming laps. Then we see….
Just kidding! Fredy did some more research based on the picture, and it is more likely to be a Blacktip Shark than a Galápagos shark. Notice in the picture below [same picture as the one above, just zoomed in more] how the tail fin goes slightly inward. This is a very, very rare occurrence. At least in the past. Apparently some naturalists have recently reported this shark off the same island. Blackfin sharks are uncommon in the archipelago – they are circumtropical.
A young Sea Lion and a Land Iguana share the shade of the same Opuntia. However when the Sea Lion tries to cuddle up next to the Land Iguana, the iguana is not impressed.
I get a few
more shots of the crazy landscape including one of myself – I have to show I
really did land on this planet and take these pictures.
At the end
of our hike we have more iguana fun. Two are fighting along the trail and then
I spotted a juvenile Land Iguana about 2 meters off the trail. Pepe said that
this is rare to see, even on this island where they don’t have predators. The
young usually hide. Look at this cutie with its tongue sticking out.
And another iguana because why not? They were everywhere. This island has one of the biggest Land Iguana colonies for sure, even though they tend to be smaller than Land Iguanas elsewhere.
Another Cactus Ground Finch:
And another iguana because why not? They were everywhere. This island has one of the biggest Land Iguana colonies for sure, even though they tend to be smaller than Land Iguanas elsewhere.
Another Cactus Ground Finch:
And now
check out the island’s current alpha male Sea Lion barking at all of the baby
Sea Lions. We then get back on board the pangas to sail back to the yacht.
Another cute Sea Lion picture for good measure!
Another cute Sea Lion picture for good measure!
South Plaza
I think has been one of my favorite locations! It felt very alien and very
peaceful. We got to see some interesting things, and I really enjoyed the short
hike.
Fauna
- Galapagos Sea Lion [Endemic] Zalophus wollebaeki
- Swallow-tailed Gull [Endemic] Creagrus (Larus) furcatus
- Red-billed Tropicbird [Native]o Phaethonaethereus mesonauto
- Galapagos Land Iguana [Endemic] Conolophus subcristatus and C. pallidus
- Lava Lizard [Endemic] Microluphus spp.
- Cactus Ground Finch [1 of Darwin’s Finches – Endemic] Geospiza scandens
- Galapagos or Audobon Shearwater [Endemic] Oceanodroma castro
- Yellow Warbler [Native] Dendroica petechia aureola
- Galapagos Shark [Native] Carcharhinus galapagensis
- Blackfin Shark Tiburon Volador
Flora
- Opuntia [Endemic?] Opuntia echios?
- Sesuvium
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