Celebrity's Galapagos IslandsWildlife Calendar
January• Beginningoftherainyseason
• Landbirdsstartnesting,generallyafterthefirstrain
• OnHood(Española)Islandadultmarineiguanasbecomebrightlycolored(green&red+black)
• ThegreenseaturtlesarrivetobeachesintheGalapagosforegglayingperiod
• LandiguanasbeginreproductivecyclesonIsabelaIsland
• Both,waterandairtemperaturesriseandstaywarmuntilJune
• Idealtimeforsnorkeling
February• OnFloreanaIslandgreaterflamingosstartnesting
• Bahamapintailducks(Black-tailedpintail)starttheirbreedingseason
• Nazca(masked)boobiesonHoodareattheendoftheirnestingseason
• MarineiguanasnestonSantaCruzIsland
• Thehighestwatertemperaturereaches25C(77F).ThistemperatureremainsconstantuntilApril
• VeryfewpenguinsaresightedatBartolomeIsland(mosthavefollowedthecoolwatersbacktothewestornear
upwellingareas)
• NestingseasonoftheGalapagosdovereachesitspeak
March• Therainyseasonreachesthehighestprecipitation(thisdoesnotmeanitrainseveryday)
• Sporadictropicalrains,intensesunandhotclimate.Airtemperaturecanreachupto30C(86F).Humidityishigh.
• MarineiguanasnestonFernandina
• March21st,thebeginningofthesummerequinoxsignalsthearrivalofthewavedalbatrosstoEspañola.
• Eventhewesternislandshavewarmwaterswheresnorkelingisexcellent.PuntaVicenteRoca(Isabela)canbean
amazingsite.Penguinsstillactiveinthewater,nexttotropicalfish!(Howbizarre!)
• Someshores,speciallythosefacingthenorthside,canreceivedeepsurge(oladefondo)comingfromthenorthern
currents.WetlandingsatplaceslikePuertoEgas,GardnerBay,Bartolomecansometimesbeachallenge.
• Snorkelerswillremainlongperiodsoftimeinthewaterbychoice,marinelifeisveryactive.
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April• MassivearrivalofwavedalbatrossestoEspañola.Amazingcourtshipstarts.
• Endofhatchingseasonofthegianttortoises
• Eggsofgreenseaturtlesbegintohatch
• EggsoflandiguanashatchonIsabela
• Whiletherainshaveended,theislandsquitecontinuegreen
• Goodvisibilityinthewaterforsnorkelers
• Perhaps,togetherwithMay,thebestmonthsinGalapagos(weather,animals,watertemperature)
May• NorthSeymour'sblue-footedboobiesbegintheircourtship
• SeaturtlesarestillhatchingonGardnerBay,PuntaCormorant,andPuertoEgas
• Mostofmarineiguanas'eggshatchfromnestsonSantaCruz
• Palosantotreesbegintoshedtheirfoliage
• WavedalbatrossonEspañolastartlayingtheireggs
• Ban-rumpedstormpetrelsbegintheirfirstnestingperiod
June• Beginningofthegarúaseason
• GianttortoisesonSantaCruzIslandmigratefromthehighlandstothelowlandsinsearchofsuitable
nestingplaces
• Beginningofthenestingseasonofgianttortoises
• Southeasttradewindsreturn.Currentsbecomeabitstronger.Seaspickupinsurgeandwaveaction.
• ManyredpouchesbymalesofMagnificentFrigatebirdsonNorthSeymour.
• Southernmigrantshavestartedtheirjourneytowardsthenorth.Galapagosisareststopforsuch
birds.Somespeciesofcetaceansalsofollowthispatternofmigration.
• SomegroupsofHumpbackwhalesthatmigrateuptoequatoriallatitudesalongthecoastofEcuador,
canreachtheGalapagostoo.
July• Seabirdcommunitiesareveryactive(breeding),speciallytheBluefootedboobiesonEspañola.
• FlightlesscormorantsperformbeautifulcourtshipritualsandnestingactivitiesonFernandina.
• AlongtheshoresofPuertoEgas(SantiagoIsland)youcouldfindAmericanoystercatchersnesting.
• LavalizardsinitiatematingritualsuntilNovember
• Whales&dolphinsaremorelikelytobeobserved,especiallyoffthewesterncoastofIsabela
• GreatmonthtoseethefourstagesofnestinginBluefootedboobies:eggs,chicks,juveniles&subadults.
• Watertemperaturedoesnotreachmorethan21C(68F)
Celebrity's Galapagos IslandsWildlife Calendar
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August• GalapagoshawkscourtonEspañolaandSantiago
• Nazca(masked)boobiesandSwallow-tailedgullsnestonGenovesaIsland
• Thetemperatureoftheoceandropsto18C(64F),whichobviouslyvariesaccordingtothegeographic
zonesamongtheislands.
• Migrantshorebirdsstarttoarrive,andstayontheislandsuntilMarch
• GianttortoisesreturntothehighlandsofSantaCruz
• Oceansarequitechoppy,currentsatthestrongestlevels,surgecanbeexpectedalongtheshoresthat
facewestorsouth
• Puppingseason(births)ofsealionshasstarted.Westernandcentralislandsarecommonplacesfor
suchsightings.
September• Peakofthecold(garúa)season
• Theairtemperaturereachesitslowestlevels(19C-66F)
• GalapagosPenguinsshowremarkableactivityonBartolome.
• SinceMayswimmersandsnorkelerscanbedelightedatBartolomewithpenguinsactiveatthe
surfaceortorpedo-likewhileunderwater.
• Sealionsareveryactive.Femaleshavereachedestrusstage,andsoharem-gatheringmalesare
constantlybarkingandfighting.Shorefightingisheavy.Westernandcentralislandsarethemost
activeonesintermsofsealions'activities.
• Mostspeciesofseabirdsremainquiteactiveattheirnestingsites.
October• LavaheronsstartnestinguntilMarch
• TheGalapagosFurSeals(subspeciesofSealions)begintheirmatingperiod
• BluefootedboobiesraisechicksalloverEspañolaandPuntaVicenteRoca(Isabela)
• Gianttortoisesarestilllayingeggs
• Daysarenotalwayssunny.Garúacanbeexpectedinmostlocations,exceptthewesternislands
wheremostdayshaveamistystartbutafterfewhoursofdaylightitburnsoff.
• Sunrisesinthewestcanbequitebeautifulafterthegarúacoversonlycertainlocationsofthe
westernvolcanoes.
• Summitsareclear,butlow-lyingfogcoverstheshoreline.
Celebrity's Galapagos IslandsWildlife Calendar
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November• Puppingofsealionscontinue.
• Sealionsaresexuallyactiveontheeasternpartofthearchipelago.
• Breedingseasonforthebrownnoddies
• Somespeciesofjellyfishcanbeseenaroundtheislands.
• ThegenusPhysaliaiscommonlyseenfloatingaroundGardnerandTortugaIslets.Somecanalsobe
seenstrandedattheshoresoftheFlourBeachatFloreana.
• Band-rumpedstormpetrelsbegintheirsecondnestingperiod
• Seasarecalm.Southeasttradewindshavedecreasedstrength.Watertemperaturesareslowlyrising.
• Generallygreatweatherduetotransitionbetweenoneseasonandthenextone
• Goodvisibilityforsnorkelers
• Sealionpups(speciallyatChampionIslet)playaqua-aerobicsnexttosnorkelers.Mostpupshereare
curiousenoughtonibbleatfinsofsnorkelers.Theaverageageofmostpupsis3-4months.
December• Hatchingofgianttortoise'seggsbeginsandlastsuntilApril
• Greenseaturtlesdisplaytheirmatingbehavior
• Therainyseasonbegins,alloftheplantsofthedryzoneproduceleaves.Galapagosbecomes"green"
• Thefirstyoungwavedalbatrossesfledge
• Greatweather
Celebrity's Galapagos IslandsWildlife Calendar