Hello everyone,
Here is a quick report from my trip to Madeira from the 22nd to 31st of July. I should state that while I am a keen birder the trip was mostly a fishing trip as a birthday present for my father. 5 of the days were spent fishing (and trying to bird).
The map below shows the location of the places I went birding.
July 22nd
Land in Funchal airport (the Christiano Ronaldo International Airport) and transfer to Funchal city. Our apartment was located just off the marina which gave the opportunity to do a little birding around the marina. Being from the UK I had expected gulls to be numerous, however, it was surprising to find that even next to the marina they weren't present in any large numbers. There was a handful of yellow legged gulls as well as a few lesser-black backed gulls. There was also a family of common terns.
Next to the marina is a small park, Parque de Santa Catarina. Before the sun set there was time for a quick walk around this park. It held a number of blackcaps, blackbirds, and a kestrel.
July 23rd
The first of a non-fishing day so took the opportunity to go to Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. Be aware that Madeira is a steep island, if you look on Google maps the distance may only be 4km from the centre of Funchal, however, it's all uphill. I had planned on walking to the gardens but when I landed and transferred into town that thought quickly left my mind. A taxi it will be. Incidently the Monte gardens is also where the famous 'tobagons' depart from, so you could use this as a way to return to the city. The gardens open at 9am and I arrived slighly earlier. Outside the ticket office plain swifts could be seen flying between the many ridges of the island. A kestrel then flew over. Even in the city kestrels would turn out to be plentiful.
Upon entering the gardens I tried to head away from the crowds (even at 9am there were queues to get in). This paid off as I was abe to listen for birds and quickly heard the Madeira firecrest. There were 3 of them flitting around the trees high in the canopy. I then proceeded to walk down to the bottom of the gardens (everything seems to be on a slope in Madeira). On the way I encounted another endemic target species, the Trocaz pigeon. This bird was rather confiding and allowed close up pictures. After watching it for about 10 minutes I continued on down the slope. At the bottom there is a viewpoint with a cafe and it was here I got another target, the Madeira chaffinch. Very tame birds that are used to visitors and tried to steal crumbs from plates. By this time it was around 11am and I decided to leave as there were many people in the gardens.
I headed to the cable car that took me to the botanical gardens. At the cable car station there were 2 common buzzards circling. Unfortunately, I arrived at the botanical gardens around noon and it was scorching hot. Hardly any wildlife to be seen. I left around 2pm having only seen one blackcap, a robin, and a kestrel.
July 24th
This was to be the first day on the boat. My father has always had a love of fishing so for a special 'once in a lifetime' birthday present my brother and I went with him big game fishing. Our approximate route was the red line on the map above. Keeping fairly close to the shore trolling for big game fish. We didn't see many birds at first, however, occasionally there were rafts of Cory's shearwater that probably numbered 50+ quite easily. There were also a handful of Bulwer's petrels, though these were much less numerous. I had never been that interested in seabirds previously, however, seeing the shearwater and petrels skim across the surfact of the water left quite the impression. The wildlife highlight was a pair of pilot whales, we later saw bottlenosed dolphins and a sea turtle.
July 25th
Another day on the boat, this time the yellow line. Like the day before Cory's shearwater was the most numerous bird, with a few Bulwer's petrels thrown in. We passed a fish farm (I was told they farmed bream) which attraced a large number of common terns and what people from inaturalist have identified as an artic tern. At the far western point of the island we saw a huge group of hammerhead shark.
July 26th + 27th
Combined these days as nothing much happened. Two more days on the boat and I saw the same things as on the previous trips. I focused on trying to photograph flying fish. Quite the challenge as they would unexpectedly appear and shoot away from the boat at high speed.
July 28th
The final fishing day, this time weather conditions allowed us to go to the east of the island. I was quite excited about this as I had read online more varieties of shearwater and the endemic zino's petrel are more likely in this area. However, to cut a long story short we only saw more Cory's shearwater and Bulwer's petrels. As I said at the beginning, this was a fishing trip and most of the time was spent doing that. I was the only birder in the group and tried to 'fit in' with the family holiday as much as possible.
July 29th
I had decided to go to Pico do Arieiro for the 'PR1' hiking route and to see the sunrise (a popular tourist activity). I was collected at 5:45am and arrived at around 6:40. If anyone is planning on doing this please note the weather at the top is very different to Funchal. It was windy, raining, and quite cold. A few unprepared people waiting for the sunrise were crying. Cloud cover meant there was no sunrise so to speak so at 7:20 I started the hike. The route is a well-maintained though steep in places. It would require a general level of fitness to complete. On the way I saw more plain swifts, Madeira chaffinch, and blackcaps. I am sure there would have been more birds if weather conditions had been better. The highlight was a very tame red legged partridge with a chick. It walked straight up to the hikers and paid no attention to them. This happened later in the hike too with another pair of birds. At Pico Ruivo, the highest point on Madeira, there were many robins and Madeira chaffinch. Walking to the end point, Achadas Teixeira, another kestrel was seen. At Archadas Teixeira there is a substantial cafe and I was collected at 12:30 to be returned to Funchal.
July 30th
This day was spent exploring the island, driving around the west coast. We stopped at many small villages. Unfortunately not much birding was done and only a handful of the 'common' birds were seen (blackcap, plain swift, robin, kestrel), the highlight being a pair of collared doves at Ponta do Pargo, adding to the species seen on this trip.
July 31st
The final day on Madeira. I still had 2 birds I wanted to see, the spectacled warbler and Berthelot's pipit. With these in mind I looked on ebird and decided on
Ponta de São Lourenço, the far eastern tip of the island. This is also the location of the 'PR8' hiking route. Unlike PR1 this was a much easier route though it did have a few steep sections with uneven surfaces. Upon arriving I was greeted by yet another kestrel, though this time it had landed and provided a great opportunity for photos. Once the hike started I was quite nervous, this being my last day on the island and the last chance to see either of the target species. This wasn't helped by the fact that for the first hour or so I had only seen a pair of whimbrel and one yellow-legged gull! As time went on large flocks of island canaries were seen. The males being especially colourful. Near the end of the route is 'Cafetaria Sardine House cafe & snacks', a cafe and rest stop. It was also surrounded by more large flocks of canaries which provided plentiful opportunities for photos - I must have taken well over 200 of these canaries. At the cafe I was feeling quite down as I had not seen the target species (despite them being quite numerous on ebird lists). While my family had drinks I decided to walk on and explore the area. As I did a small bird flew over my head, I managed to track it as it landed in a thicket on the other side of a valley. Looking at it through the binoculars I could see it was a spectacled warbler. This provided a great relief. Back at the cafe I was looking through the canary photos when I saw, in the background of one, a non-canary looking bird. I went back to the location and walked around. Far in the distance, perched on a guide rope was a small bird shape. Looking through my camera it was still far away, I had to really zoom in. It was a Berthelot's pipit. Unfortuntely both the warbler and pipit were far away, meaning only record shouts could be taken. The walk back was a lot more relaxed! It seems that at this location most of the target species are indeed around the cafe. On the walk back, one one high ridge, a number of swifts were flying close past. I noticed that a few seemed to be a lot lighter in colour and these turned out to be pallid swifts.
That was the end of my Madeira trip. The only bird I had hoped to see that I didn't was the zino's petrel. I had emaild 'windbirds', but their reply didn't go into my inbox and was put into 'junk mail' so I didn't see it. I did later email them to see about their nighttime experience but it was full up.
Here are a few select photos from the trip.
Thanks for reading.
List of bird seen. Bold are lifers.
Cory's Shearwater
Bulwer's Petrel
Atlantic Canary
Grey Wagtail
Madeira Chaffinch
European Robin
Madeira Firecrest
Common Buzzard
Plain Swift
Trocaz Pigeon
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian Blackcap
Common Kestrel
Common Tern
Yellow-legged Gull
Black-headed Gull
Rock Dove
Pallid swift
Berthelot's pipit
Spectacled warbler
Feral pigeon
Red-legged partridge
Lesser black-backed gull
Collared dove
Whimbrel
Muscovy duck (domestic - in parks)
Grey wagtail
Here is a quick report from my trip to Madeira from the 22nd to 31st of July. I should state that while I am a keen birder the trip was mostly a fishing trip as a birthday present for my father. 5 of the days were spent fishing (and trying to bird).
The map below shows the location of the places I went birding.
July 22nd
Land in Funchal airport (the Christiano Ronaldo International Airport) and transfer to Funchal city. Our apartment was located just off the marina which gave the opportunity to do a little birding around the marina. Being from the UK I had expected gulls to be numerous, however, it was surprising to find that even next to the marina they weren't present in any large numbers. There was a handful of yellow legged gulls as well as a few lesser-black backed gulls. There was also a family of common terns.
Next to the marina is a small park, Parque de Santa Catarina. Before the sun set there was time for a quick walk around this park. It held a number of blackcaps, blackbirds, and a kestrel.
July 23rd
The first of a non-fishing day so took the opportunity to go to Monte Palace Tropical Gardens. Be aware that Madeira is a steep island, if you look on Google maps the distance may only be 4km from the centre of Funchal, however, it's all uphill. I had planned on walking to the gardens but when I landed and transferred into town that thought quickly left my mind. A taxi it will be. Incidently the Monte gardens is also where the famous 'tobagons' depart from, so you could use this as a way to return to the city. The gardens open at 9am and I arrived slighly earlier. Outside the ticket office plain swifts could be seen flying between the many ridges of the island. A kestrel then flew over. Even in the city kestrels would turn out to be plentiful.
Upon entering the gardens I tried to head away from the crowds (even at 9am there were queues to get in). This paid off as I was abe to listen for birds and quickly heard the Madeira firecrest. There were 3 of them flitting around the trees high in the canopy. I then proceeded to walk down to the bottom of the gardens (everything seems to be on a slope in Madeira). On the way I encounted another endemic target species, the Trocaz pigeon. This bird was rather confiding and allowed close up pictures. After watching it for about 10 minutes I continued on down the slope. At the bottom there is a viewpoint with a cafe and it was here I got another target, the Madeira chaffinch. Very tame birds that are used to visitors and tried to steal crumbs from plates. By this time it was around 11am and I decided to leave as there were many people in the gardens.
I headed to the cable car that took me to the botanical gardens. At the cable car station there were 2 common buzzards circling. Unfortunately, I arrived at the botanical gardens around noon and it was scorching hot. Hardly any wildlife to be seen. I left around 2pm having only seen one blackcap, a robin, and a kestrel.
July 24th
This was to be the first day on the boat. My father has always had a love of fishing so for a special 'once in a lifetime' birthday present my brother and I went with him big game fishing. Our approximate route was the red line on the map above. Keeping fairly close to the shore trolling for big game fish. We didn't see many birds at first, however, occasionally there were rafts of Cory's shearwater that probably numbered 50+ quite easily. There were also a handful of Bulwer's petrels, though these were much less numerous. I had never been that interested in seabirds previously, however, seeing the shearwater and petrels skim across the surfact of the water left quite the impression. The wildlife highlight was a pair of pilot whales, we later saw bottlenosed dolphins and a sea turtle.
July 25th
Another day on the boat, this time the yellow line. Like the day before Cory's shearwater was the most numerous bird, with a few Bulwer's petrels thrown in. We passed a fish farm (I was told they farmed bream) which attraced a large number of common terns and what people from inaturalist have identified as an artic tern. At the far western point of the island we saw a huge group of hammerhead shark.
July 26th + 27th
Combined these days as nothing much happened. Two more days on the boat and I saw the same things as on the previous trips. I focused on trying to photograph flying fish. Quite the challenge as they would unexpectedly appear and shoot away from the boat at high speed.
July 28th
The final fishing day, this time weather conditions allowed us to go to the east of the island. I was quite excited about this as I had read online more varieties of shearwater and the endemic zino's petrel are more likely in this area. However, to cut a long story short we only saw more Cory's shearwater and Bulwer's petrels. As I said at the beginning, this was a fishing trip and most of the time was spent doing that. I was the only birder in the group and tried to 'fit in' with the family holiday as much as possible.
July 29th
I had decided to go to Pico do Arieiro for the 'PR1' hiking route and to see the sunrise (a popular tourist activity). I was collected at 5:45am and arrived at around 6:40. If anyone is planning on doing this please note the weather at the top is very different to Funchal. It was windy, raining, and quite cold. A few unprepared people waiting for the sunrise were crying. Cloud cover meant there was no sunrise so to speak so at 7:20 I started the hike. The route is a well-maintained though steep in places. It would require a general level of fitness to complete. On the way I saw more plain swifts, Madeira chaffinch, and blackcaps. I am sure there would have been more birds if weather conditions had been better. The highlight was a very tame red legged partridge with a chick. It walked straight up to the hikers and paid no attention to them. This happened later in the hike too with another pair of birds. At Pico Ruivo, the highest point on Madeira, there were many robins and Madeira chaffinch. Walking to the end point, Achadas Teixeira, another kestrel was seen. At Archadas Teixeira there is a substantial cafe and I was collected at 12:30 to be returned to Funchal.
July 30th
This day was spent exploring the island, driving around the west coast. We stopped at many small villages. Unfortunately not much birding was done and only a handful of the 'common' birds were seen (blackcap, plain swift, robin, kestrel), the highlight being a pair of collared doves at Ponta do Pargo, adding to the species seen on this trip.
July 31st
The final day on Madeira. I still had 2 birds I wanted to see, the spectacled warbler and Berthelot's pipit. With these in mind I looked on ebird and decided on
Ponta de São Lourenço, the far eastern tip of the island. This is also the location of the 'PR8' hiking route. Unlike PR1 this was a much easier route though it did have a few steep sections with uneven surfaces. Upon arriving I was greeted by yet another kestrel, though this time it had landed and provided a great opportunity for photos. Once the hike started I was quite nervous, this being my last day on the island and the last chance to see either of the target species. This wasn't helped by the fact that for the first hour or so I had only seen a pair of whimbrel and one yellow-legged gull! As time went on large flocks of island canaries were seen. The males being especially colourful. Near the end of the route is 'Cafetaria Sardine House cafe & snacks', a cafe and rest stop. It was also surrounded by more large flocks of canaries which provided plentiful opportunities for photos - I must have taken well over 200 of these canaries. At the cafe I was feeling quite down as I had not seen the target species (despite them being quite numerous on ebird lists). While my family had drinks I decided to walk on and explore the area. As I did a small bird flew over my head, I managed to track it as it landed in a thicket on the other side of a valley. Looking at it through the binoculars I could see it was a spectacled warbler. This provided a great relief. Back at the cafe I was looking through the canary photos when I saw, in the background of one, a non-canary looking bird. I went back to the location and walked around. Far in the distance, perched on a guide rope was a small bird shape. Looking through my camera it was still far away, I had to really zoom in. It was a Berthelot's pipit. Unfortuntely both the warbler and pipit were far away, meaning only record shouts could be taken. The walk back was a lot more relaxed! It seems that at this location most of the target species are indeed around the cafe. On the walk back, one one high ridge, a number of swifts were flying close past. I noticed that a few seemed to be a lot lighter in colour and these turned out to be pallid swifts.
That was the end of my Madeira trip. The only bird I had hoped to see that I didn't was the zino's petrel. I had emaild 'windbirds', but their reply didn't go into my inbox and was put into 'junk mail' so I didn't see it. I did later email them to see about their nighttime experience but it was full up.
Here are a few select photos from the trip.
Thanks for reading.
List of bird seen. Bold are lifers.
Cory's Shearwater
Bulwer's Petrel
Atlantic Canary
Grey Wagtail
Madeira Chaffinch
European Robin
Madeira Firecrest
Common Buzzard
Plain Swift
Trocaz Pigeon
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian Blackcap
Common Kestrel
Common Tern
Yellow-legged Gull
Black-headed Gull
Rock Dove
Pallid swift
Berthelot's pipit
Spectacled warbler
Feral pigeon
Red-legged partridge
Lesser black-backed gull
Collared dove
Whimbrel
Muscovy duck (domestic - in parks)
Grey wagtail
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