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THE AZORES, MADEIRA & THE CANARY ISLANDS
Macaronesian Endemics, Seabirds & Cetaceans
Birdquest's Azores, Madeira & The Canary Islands birding tour is the most comprehensive birdwatching tour of the scenic and endemic-rich Macaronesian islands available. Our Azores, Madeira & The Canary Islands tour targets all the endemic birds, as well as the major seabirds and the rare and endangered Houbara Bustard.
Monday 10th June -
Thursday 20th June 2013
(11 days)
Leaders:
Tony Clarke and assistant
Group Size Limit: 12
Tour Category: Easy
The islands of the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries offer some superb scenery and a series of exciting avian endemics (the number steadily increasing through recent ‘splitting’) and other specialities, including some great seabirds.
First we will visit the far-flung Azores Islands in mid-Atlantic, an autonomous region of Portugal. The Azores are part of the Macaronesian faunal subregion that also includes Madeira, the Canaries and the Cape Verde Islands. Here, on the island of San Miguel, we will find the rare Azores Bullfinch, which is now recognized as a full species, plus the Macaronesian-endemic Atlantic Canary and several Azorean forms which are candidates for future splits, including Atlantis Gull.
Next we will explore the island of Madeira and its satellite islands, which lie some 800 kilometres out into the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest of Portugal, of which they are another autonomous region. Madeira was only discovered in 1419, by João Gonçalves Zarco, following on from the discovery of the smaller island of Porto Santo the previous year. Indeed, the two expeditions, which were sponsored by Portugal’s Prince Henry the Navigator, were key to the perception that it really was going to be possible to navigate far from sight of land and return safely, and that new lands and potential wealth awaited the bold explorer rather than a plunge into an abyss! They set the scene for the later discovery of the Americas and the first circumnavigation of the globe.
Madeira holds some fascinating landbirds, including the endemic Trocaz (or Long-toed) Pigeon and Madeiran Kinglet, and the Macaronesian-endemic Plain Swift and Berthelot’s Pipit, plus other island forms not yet treated as full species but likely candidates for the future. Even more exciting is Madeira’s wealth of seabirds. Europe’s most endangered species, the relatively recently split Zino’s (or Madeira) Petrel, nests in the remotest canyons on Madeira, while other species breeding in the archipelago include the Madeiran form of Fea’s (or Cape Verde) Petrel, which looks likely to soon be split as Desertas Petrel, Bulwer’s Petrel, Cory’s and Little Shearwaters, and Madeiran (or Band-rumped) Storm-Petrel. During our time in Madeira we will spend some of our time exploring the spectacular verdant canyons of the main island and the remainder looking for a pelagic seabirds offshore.
Finally we will explore the Canary Islands. Said by the ancient Greeks to be the remnants of the lost kingdom of Atlantis, where paradise on earth could still be found, this sun-drenched group of islands is situated just north of the Tropic of Cancer not far from the coast of North Africa. The original inhabitants were the Guanches, a sturdy Cro-Magnon people with blue eyes and fair hair, and the islands derive their name from the Latin word for dog, canis, of which there were apparently many. Their wonderful climate has earned the Canary Islands their modern reputation as the ‘Garden of Europe’, a place where flowers and vegetables can be grown in the depths of the European winter. The volcanic origin of the islands is made evident by the presence of huge tracts of solidified lava, volcanic cones and extinct calderas, whilst steaming fumaroles betray continuing activity in the bowels of the earth. The trade winds bring cloud and rain to the western islands, which are covered with lush, primeval laurel forests on their northern slopes, whilst the eastern islands are much drier and desert-like, with only scrubby vegetation.
The isolation of the Atlantic Islands has favoured the evolution of endemic forms, most derived from colonists from Europe, and the Canary Islands are renowned for the occurrence of no less than eight endemic bird species; Laurel Pigeon, Bolle’s Pigeon, Canary Islands (or Tenerife) Robin, Canary Islands (or Fuerteventura) Stonechat, Canary Islands Chiffchaff, Canary Islands Kinglet, Canary Islands Blue Tit and Blue Chaffinch. Not only do the Canaries have this superb selection of unique birds but they also harbour one of the healthiest surviving populations of Houbara Bustard as well as Barbary Falcon, Barbary Partridge, Cream-coloured Courser, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Lesser Short-toed Lark and Trumpeter Finch. Last but not least the islands offer visitors some good seabirding, with Little Shearwater being the prime atrtraction.
Birdquest has been operating tours to the islands since 1995.
(Note: The above is a summary of the tour. For more information please download the detailed, day-by-day itinerary. The button is at the top right of the page.)
Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels are of normal Birdquest standard throughout. Road transport is by minibus and roads are mostly good.
Walking: The walking effort is mostly easy, but the optional nocturnal walk to the Zino’s Petrels is over uneven and sloping ground.
Climate: In the Azores and Madeira it is typically warm and mostly sunny in coastal areas, but it is regularly cool and overcast in the mountains. There may be some rain, with chances highest in the mountains. In the Canary Islands most days are warm or hot, dry and sunny. It is sometimes cool and overcast, but prolonged rain is unlikely.
Bird Photography: Opportunities are quite good.
Part-Tour Option: Subject to space being available, it is possible to take just the Azores & Madeira section or the Canary Islands section of this tour. Please contact us for further information.
Tour Price: (provisional): $4460 Ponta Delgada/Tenerife. Price includes all transportation (including Ponta Delgada-Madeira, Madeira-Las Palmas and Las Palmas-Fuerteventura-Tenerife flights), all accommodations, all meals, some drinks, all excursions, all entrance fees, all tips for local drivers/guides and for accommodations/restaurants, leader services.
Single Room Supplement: (provisional): $518.
Deposit: 10% of the tour price (excluding any single supplement).
Air Travel To & From The Tour: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with the tour from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to travel in advance of the tour (and spend a night in an hotel so you will feel fresh when the tour starts), or return later than the end of the tour, or make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.
Birdquest LLC, 3721 Executive Center Drive, Suite 268, Austin, TX 78731
Ph: 512-343-1700, Fax: 512-343-1701
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