MADEIRA & AZORES BIRDING TOUR: DETAILED ITINERARY
Madeira & Azores: Day 1 Our Madeira birding tour begins this afternoon at Funchal airport, from where we will proceed to the quiet and attractive coastal town of Machico for a five-night stay
(Funchal is served by direct flights from Lisbon, London and many other cities.)
Cory’s Shearwaters (now treated as a separate species to Scopoli’s Shearwater that breeds in the Mediterranean) nest above the hotel, and in the evening, they can be seen flying over, uttering their strange cries.
Madeira & Azores: Days 2-5 Madeira’s star attraction is its breeding seabirds, and our stay on Madeira is designed to give us time to conduct enough pelagic trips to give us an excellent chance of finding all of the key seabirds and to make sure we really get great views of the key species. Our days will be structured around these pelagics, and we intend to conduct three, which will run from mid-afternoon until dusk, and there is a contingency day to account for a day when conditions are unsuitable (too windy or even too calm!). The rest of the time we have to recuperate between pelagics and also to explore the lush interior of the island.
During our time at sea, we will be prioritising the two endemic breeding Pterodroma petrels, a group that is always exciting to see! The endangered, breeding-endemic Zino’s Petrel was only relatively recently recognized as a distinct species, and indeed, all three forms (this along with Desertas and Fea’s Petrels) were formerly lumped with Soft-plumaged Petrel of the Southern Oceans. Thanks to careful studies by the Zino family, its specific status and ecology were discovered. It is now reduced to a tiny population of perhaps 80 pairs, which breed high in the remote central mountains of the interior of Madeira, where conservation measures (such as restricting rats in the area of the colonies) have helped to stabilise the population. With the specialist local knowledge of our guides, we will put our boat into the path of the birds returning to their remaining colonies, and we can expect good views of the ultra-rare seabird!
The arid Desertas, stark rocky scraps of land almost devoid of vegetation situated to the southeast of Madeira, are now free from rats and goats after an eradication campaign and set to enjoy a massive increase in the number of breeding seabirds. These rugged islands are a spectacular sight, rising steeply from the ocean like bare mountain tops that seemingly might have emerged from the depths just yesterday. Not far offshore, the floor of the Atlantic is over 1000m deep, and seabirds gather where there are upwellings along the edge of the much shallower shelf that connects the Desertas to Madeira. Off the island of Bugio, we should see good numbers of Desertas Petrels, a species (now also treated as distinct from Fea’s or Cape Verde Petrel) that breeds only on the Desertas, admiring their rapid, bounding flight action that gave rise to the name ‘gadfly petrel’ for the genus Pterodroma.
During our boat trips, we should also encounter 100s of Cory’s Shearwaters and good numbers of Bulwer’s Petrels, both often at close range. Madeiran Storm Petrel also nests in the Madeira group, and we have a good chance of encountering this species, although they can sometimes be difficult to find. Splitting the Madeiran Storm Petrel may occur in the future, and there are both summer and winter breeding populations in the Madeira group. With a bit of good fortune, we will also see the fast-declining Barolo’s Shearwater, a species now restricted to this part of the North Atlantic following the taxonomic reorganization of the ‘Little Shearwater’ complex, as well as small numbers of Manx Shearwaters, and we may also come across less regular species such as Great Shearwater and the attractive White-faced Storm Petrel, and maybe the odd rarity such as a South Polar Skua. Numerous gulls will also be attracted to the chum, mostly the atlantis form of the Yellow-legged Gull, but with a few over-summering immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls. As we will be using chum throughout the pelagics, the views of many of the seabirds can be excellent, and many of the species that would, at best, be dots from land can give excellent photographic opportunities.
Cetaceans are sometimes sighted, with the most frequently encountered species being Atlantic Spotted, Short-beaked Common and Common Bottle-nosed Dolphins, but we also have a reasonable chance of larger species such as Short-finned Pilot Whales or even Bryde’s Whales. Madeira is supposedly one of the best places in the world to see this rare baleen whale up close.
During our time on land, we will explore the attractive interior of the island of Madeira, which well deserves its reputation as a beautiful, verdant, easy-going, subtropical hideaway far out into the Atlantic. Here, everything seems to grow with a greater profusion than on the mainland, and the riot of greenery and wildflowers adds to the feeling that one has reached an island especially favoured by nature. To our west, a wall of peaks loom high above Funchal, the capital and the only town of any size. Rising almost straight out of the Atlantic, the volcanic mountains of Madeira reach 1862m at Pico Ruivo, the island’s highest point, and the deep, precipitous canyons that have formed over aeons of time make Madeira’s scenery something really spectacular. Whilst on dry land, we will explore a number of spectacular areas where pockets of the impressive native laurel forests survive, such as the dramatic canyon at Ribeiro Frio. Here, as we walk along a path next to a ‘levada’, one of the many small irrigation canals painstakingly built along the sides of Madeira’s canyons to take water to cultivatable areas, we shall enjoy some of the finest views on the island (with the highest peaks of the island towering above us, providing it is clear).
The three endemic landbirds are relatively easy to find, and indeed, the Trocaz Pigeon can now even be seen in Funchal. It should be easy for us to see and photograph this impressive beast alongside the diminutive Madeira Firecrest which is itself a delightful and fearless little bird. The Madeira Chaffinch is one of the most abundant birds on the island and you will often find a few trying to eat the food out your hand! We will also hope to find the local forms (either endemic to Madeira or Macaronesia) of various species, such as Common Buzzard, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Blackcap (there is an uncommon dark morph of the local subspecies), Common Blackbird and Grey Wagtail.
We will also explore the highest parts of the island around the spectacular Pico do Arieiro. Here the views down into the incredibly deep and precipitous canyons are truly amazing. In this area, we will look for some more special birds, including two more Macaronesian endemics, Plain Swift (which often flies by at eye level) and Berthelot’s Pipit. Also found here is the Atlantic form of Spectacled Warbler, as well as introduced Red-legged Partridges and some spectacular flora, including endemic orchids and the amazing Pride of Madeira, an endemic Echium.
In the coastal plains, closer to our base, we will find another Macaronesian endemic, the smart Atlantic Canary, whilst, in the arid plains at the east of the island, we may also encounter Rock Sparrow, a species which is far more common on the adjacent island of Porto Santo.
For those who wish, we will also make a nocturnal pilgrimage to Pico de Areiro to listen for the Zino’s Petrel near their breeding colony. The weird bubbling hoots are somewhat reminiscent of a Tawny Owl, and in the right conditions, we may even glimpse the birds flying over us in the moonlight. It is quite an eerie and atmospheric experience! We can also make an attempt to see the endemic form of the Western Barn Owl, although they are not always easy to find!
Other common and widespread species on the island include Grey Heron, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Eurasian Collared Dove, European Robin and European Goldfinch.
For those who are interested in other aspects of natural history, there will be ample opportunity to explore during our downtime between the pelagics. Indeed just during our birding walks, we are likely to encounter much of the endemic flora, endemic butterflies such as Madeiran Grayling, Madeiran Cleopatra and Madeiran Speckled Wood, the endemic Madeiran Wall Lizard. All in all, we will make the most of what is on offer on this lovely island.
Madeira & Azores: Day 6 Today, we will fly from Funchal Airport to Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel in the Azores. We will be staying on São Miguel for two nights. We should be able to fit in some birding at one end of the journey or the other.
Madeira & Azores: Day 7 São Miguel is the largest and most varied of the nine islands that make up the Azores, and the closest to Portugal, which lies 1400 kilometres to the east. The Azores are known as ‘The Garden Islands of the Atlantic’ and, like most mid-Atlantic islands, are volcanic in origin. The verdant island of São Miguel, which is dotted with the picturesque villages of this largely farming and fishing community, has some spectacular volcanic calderas with brightly coloured lakes, but it is the luxuriant vegetation that makes the biggest impression and not least the ubiquitous banks of blue Hydrangeas.
The highest peak is the 1103m Pico da Vara at the eastern end of the island, and it is this area that holds the remnants of the once-extensive native shrub forest of the island, a mosaic of tree heather, juniper and laurel. Here survives one of Europe’s most threatened birds, the Azores Bullfinch (or Priolo as it is called locally). The remaining population numbers as few as 300 individuals, restricted to what is left of the native vegetation. The other endemic landbird we will encounter here is the Azores Chaffinch, recently recognised as a full species.
Other birds of particular interest on the island include the beautiful Roseate Tern, Atlantic Canary and the Azorean forms of the Common Buzzard, Common Wood Pigeon, Grey Wagtail, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Goldcrest, Eurasian Blackcap, Common Starling as well as the atlantis form of the Yellow-legged Gull (known as Azorean Gull), several of which are candidates for splitting.
Additional species we are likely to see on São Miguel include Common Tern, European Goldfinch and the introduced Common Waxbill, but perhaps we will find a rare Nearctic vagrant or two!
Madeira & Azores: Day 8 This morning, we will take a flight from Punta Delgada to the charming island of Terceira, situated in the northwest of the archipelago, for a two-night stay.
Terceira is home to a population of the recently recognised Monteiro’s Storm Petrel (a member of the Band-rumped Storm Petrel group), and this will be our prime reason for visiting the island. We will have our first opportunity to go to sea today, and there is a good chance our chum will pull in a few of these poorly-known petrels.
Madeira & Azores: Day 9 Today, we will have another opportunity to go to sea, again targeting Monteiro’s Storm Petrel if we failed to find it yesterday. Cory’s Shearwaters are likely to be present in numbers, and other species likely include Roseate and Common Terns and ‘Atlantic’ Yellow-legged Gulls. There is also a chance of a scarcer species such as Sooty Shearwater, the rare Barolo’s Shearwater or Bulwer’s Petrel, and other rarities are always possible. Even Swinhoe’s Petrel has been recorded on pelagics here in the past!
In recent years, one or two Sooty Terns have been present in the tern colony on the Ilhéu da Praia, and so we will be keeping a lookout for this handsome species, a rarity in Western Palearctic seas.
We will also focus some of our attention on cetaceans. A number of species occur here, ranging from Common and Spotted Dolphins right up to the huge Sperm Whale, though it is, of course, quite unpredictable which species will be seen on any given day. Few land birds are present, and most overlap with those we will have seen on São Miguel, although Terceira is a good island on which to see the endemic subspecies of Common Quail.
Madeira & Azores: Day 10 Our Madeira & Azores birding tour ends this morning at Terceira airport.
(From Terceira, there are direct flights to Lisbon.)