I'm hoping someone can give me a little info on Madeira. We are staying in the 3rd week of Oct. Although this is a family holiday, I'm hoping to negotiate a couple of birding trips during the week. We're staying in the Funchal area and I'd welcome advice on making the best of my limited birding time.
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Madeira, October (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter MKBirder
- Start date
screaming piha
Well-known member
Madeira is great for mixing birds & family as many scenic sites are good for birds. Try Balcoes for the pigeon, firecrest and chaffinch. The view is extraordinary...
Balcões by jj birder, on Flickr
The summit of Pico do Areeiro is good for Plain Swift and Berthelot's Pipit. And the view is...
path by jj birder, on Flickr
The harbour and surrounding area is good for gulls and currently has a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
Boat trips should get you Cory's Shearwater, Bulwer's Petrel and you are going at peak time for Fea's Petrel (bit late for Zino's maybe?). I've been many times on Ventura do Mar including to the Desertas and I would recommend it highly. Tell them you are a birder. Good chance of dolphins and even whales there and on trips around Funchal (the water is deep right from outside the harbour). I have not been since Madeira Wind Birds started their pelagics and don't know whether they run at that time of year.
Either end (W or E) of the island is good for Rock Sparrow and has Spectacled Warbler. Canary is easy in low-lying areas/parks/gardens.
PM me if you need more gen. Have fun!
Not sure why the BBcodes are not working, but you can click through... and there are lots more Madeira pics there.
Balcões by jj birder, on Flickr
The summit of Pico do Areeiro is good for Plain Swift and Berthelot's Pipit. And the view is...
path by jj birder, on Flickr
The harbour and surrounding area is good for gulls and currently has a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
Boat trips should get you Cory's Shearwater, Bulwer's Petrel and you are going at peak time for Fea's Petrel (bit late for Zino's maybe?). I've been many times on Ventura do Mar including to the Desertas and I would recommend it highly. Tell them you are a birder. Good chance of dolphins and even whales there and on trips around Funchal (the water is deep right from outside the harbour). I have not been since Madeira Wind Birds started their pelagics and don't know whether they run at that time of year.
Either end (W or E) of the island is good for Rock Sparrow and has Spectacled Warbler. Canary is easy in low-lying areas/parks/gardens.
PM me if you need more gen. Have fun!
Not sure why the BBcodes are not working, but you can click through... and there are lots more Madeira pics there.
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François Doyen
Well-known member
you will probably have the pigeon, firecrest and chaffinch easily at the Balcoes
Plain swift are common in Funchal (at least in the summer...)
-Ponta de Sao Lorenço / Caniçal is good for spectacled warbler, rock sparrow, berthelot's pipit. (Ponta do Pargo isn't good anymore)
-For migrant waterbird, the best spot are Lugar do Baixo, Funchal Harbour and Machico river mouth. At this time of year there is good chance of having an american vagrant
-seawatching : the best place are Ponta do Pargo near Funchal and Porto Moniz. The best is early morning and late afternoon / evening. You'll see plenty of Cory's shearwater, a few fea's petrel and maybe little shearwater (too late for bulwer's & zino's). Porto Monis is the best spot for migrant seabirds (better in september) but if you try you can maybe see a late great, sooty or manx shearwater and skua are possible.
-boat trip I recommand :
Day trip to the Desertas Island with Ventura do Mar (good for fea's petrel, cetacean)
Whale watching trip with Madeira wind bird (probably good for fea's petrel too and cetacean)
whale watching trip with Rota dos Cetaceos (very good for cetacean)
Whale watching trip with lobosonda (good for cetacean)
check these website : http://madeirabirds.com & http://madeira.seawatching.net
FD
Plain swift are common in Funchal (at least in the summer...)
-Ponta de Sao Lorenço / Caniçal is good for spectacled warbler, rock sparrow, berthelot's pipit. (Ponta do Pargo isn't good anymore)
-For migrant waterbird, the best spot are Lugar do Baixo, Funchal Harbour and Machico river mouth. At this time of year there is good chance of having an american vagrant
-seawatching : the best place are Ponta do Pargo near Funchal and Porto Moniz. The best is early morning and late afternoon / evening. You'll see plenty of Cory's shearwater, a few fea's petrel and maybe little shearwater (too late for bulwer's & zino's). Porto Monis is the best spot for migrant seabirds (better in september) but if you try you can maybe see a late great, sooty or manx shearwater and skua are possible.
-boat trip I recommand :
Day trip to the Desertas Island with Ventura do Mar (good for fea's petrel, cetacean)
Whale watching trip with Madeira wind bird (probably good for fea's petrel too and cetacean)
whale watching trip with Rota dos Cetaceos (very good for cetacean)
Whale watching trip with lobosonda (good for cetacean)
check these website : http://madeirabirds.com & http://madeira.seawatching.net
FD
screaming piha
Well-known member
Not good for which species? What has changed?
Allen S. Moore
Well-known member
I guess that François means that Ponta do Pargo isn't good anymore for rock sparrow, etc. I twice went to Madeira in the late 1990s and "dipped" rock sparrows both times, including on a day trip to Porto Santo and a visit by taxi to Ponta de Sao Lourenço. I saw a spectacled warbler by the road down to Caniço de Baixo (just east of Funchal) once in 1997.
Maybe it is a manifestation of me being a native of an island that is even smaller than Madeira, but, geographically, Ponta do Pargo is about as far from Funchal as you can get in Madeira without being at Porto Moniz! That is according to the map that I have, anyway!
Allen
MSA
I may be relaxed but I'm not drunk....
This thread is interesting to me as I'll be in Madeira for the day on 1 Nov, and will be taking a tourist boat out to see the cetaceans (and hopefully a few birds!). I'm a little disappointed that the Bulwer's and Zino's will have left - does anyone know where would they be at this time of year? We sail from Madeira to the Caribbean, but I guess they'll be further south by then?
screaming piha
Well-known member
I had Rock Sparrows at Ponta do Pargo, Porto Santo and Sao Lourenço in the late 90s and early-mid 00s. I would be amazed if there were none now.
Had forgotten Bulwer's leaves in September. They seem such a fixture!
Had forgotten Bulwer's leaves in September. They seem such a fixture!
You may [or not] be interested in my cruise report recently posted in the vacation reports forum.
Just done Madeira,Canaries Portugal cruise.
Excellent birdwatching all the way at sea.
Madeira especially good as we sailed out.So many Bulwer's I couldn't keep count.Even knocked Cory's off top spot at one stage.They were very close to the boat on some occassions.
I have also done a Carribean cruise report.
Which islands are you visiting.
Had a wonderful time in Carribean and got lots of lifers without much effort.
Caribean not much good for sea watching but the land birds were something else.
Mark
Here is my cruise report on the madeira portugal spain fiasco I went on in april.
http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=82671
http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=82671
Very good!I have never been on these mega ships but your report sums up my fears about them.
We stick to the smaller ships[less than 1000 passengers] or Adult only or not particulary family friendly ships.
Have you tried Fred Olsen? This was the cruiseline for the aforementioned Madeira,Canaries Portugal cruise.
Only 2 football shirts seen in 2 weeks.
They are wonderful.Very calm atmosphere on board if a little gentrified.
Very polite decent passengers.Only a very few loudmouthed bores on board and they were seldom seen or heard.Far outweighed by just normal quiet people.
I am told all their ships are like this and I wouldn't hesitate to go with them again.
The trick is they only offer a basic cruise with few adornments or razzamatazz.
A very low to the water prom deck and you could birdwatch all day and hear a pin drop.After the early morning stroll around the deck brigade it was not used as a thoroughfare so virtually saw or heard anyone all day[and in some cases I was birdwatching all day on board]
I have done 7 cruises and enjoyed them all with a few niggles here and there.
Pand O adult only ships are good too.
I have had some of my best birdwatching holidays cruising.Its a case of avoiding the mega floating Butlins ships.
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MSA
I may be relaxed but I'm not drunk....
Brilliant! If my avatar persona was going they'd have a great time. My wife's been making me buy dress suits and other such posh gear, maybe I should be facebooking the local chavs to "kick off" down the town centre, or just ramraiding the local JJB store....
Steve Lister
Senior Birder, ex County Recorder, Garden Moths.
Superb.
That beats unintelligible rubbish about miniscule flycatcher measurements.
I guess you don't care much for football fans then? But you do recognise a Wolves strip......
Steve
Little did I know that a simple request for information would unearth a gem like this report. I apologise for the horrified delight I've just had whilst reading it.
I'm assuming that a day's birding at sea off Madeira won't quite match your experiences.
Thanks for all the responses; it sounds as though there's some good birding opportunities which won't cause too much marital disharmony.
And here's to Shane MacGowan B
François Doyen
Well-known member
The area of Punta do Pargo has been destructed for a golf course : http://blog.madeirawindbirds.com/ponta-do-pargo-the-destruction-of-an-iba-for
The seawatching spot near Funchal is of course not Ponta do Pargo but Ponta da Cruz, sorry!
More information about birdwatching spot : madeira.seawatching.net
FD
The seawatching spot near Funchal is of course not Ponta do Pargo but Ponta da Cruz, sorry!
More information about birdwatching spot : madeira.seawatching.net
FD
