12-19th December 2005:
Jari Korhonen (Finland) have kindly provided his sightings as follows:
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"I visited
Madeira midmonth December 2005, staying in Funchal nearly all week,
but visited Lugar de Baixo on the 16th. The Funchal City coast was
checked thoroughly on three days, though the literal dock was visited
only twice. Only 25 species were recorded during the week because
of limited birding effort." Gadwall
Anas strepera: 1 female at Lugar de Baixo on the the 16th.
A returning individual from previous winter? Sighting and photos kindly provided by Jari Korhonen, Finland |
10-17th October 2005: Tim Marshall (UK) have kindly provided a short report from his visit as follows:
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"We stayed
at Calheta in a villa overlooking the sea. With scope set up on
terrace I was in my element! Hundreds of Cory's were seen every
day." Sightings provided by Tim Marshall, UK |
First half of October 2005: John Bennett (UK) have kindly provided a short report from his trip, with his own words, as follows:
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"During a (mainly) family holiday to Madeira with my wife I managed to see most of the note worthy species. However, on a visit to the Lugar de Baixo I saw a good selection of waders (for Madeira) including 50 Turnstones, Common Sandpiper, Dunlin and Sanderling. There was also a smaller stint like wader which I am sure is a juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla. In flight the bird showed a dark centred tail with extensive white tail sides. The call was a "chup chup". The bird was seen on the 2nd and on a subsequent visit on the 4th October. A group of about six Common Waxbills were also seen there on my first visit. I also saw a Spoonbill in Funchal Harbour. At Caniçal Harbour on the 8th there was an adult Black-necked Grebe - Podiceps nigricollis - on the rough sea. On my last day near my Hotel (Atalaia) there was a Willow Warbler and a Spectacled Warbler." Sightings provided by John Bennett, UK |
3-11th September 2005: Eli and Philippe Van Audenhove (Belgium) hhave kindly provided a short report from their trip as follows:
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Zino's
Petrel:
several seen at Pico do Areeiro with nightvision, on 4th September,
but unfortunately they were silent.
Sightings provided by Eli Van Audenhove, Belgium |
26th August–2nd September 2005: Maurizio Sighele (Italy) have kindly provided a short report of sightings from his Madeira trip as follows:
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Fea's Petrel:
1 off Praia Formosa from the boat (Ventura) on 1st September. On the web address
as follows you will find a sample of photos and a list of species
recorded during or stay in Madeira: The sightings kindly provided by Maurizio Sighele, Italy |
23-30th August 2005: Anders Jihmanner (Sweden) have kindly provided some sightings directly from Madeira as follows:
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Little Shearwater:
1 off Porto Moniz on 29th August. Unfortunately,
the guided nocturnal trip to the Zino's breeding grounds at Pico
do Areeiro didn't produce any Zino's. Perhaps it's getting to late
in season for this species. Sightings provided via SMS by Anders Jihmanner, Sweden |
22-29th August 2005: Elizabeth Watson (UK) have kindly provided a short report from her family trip as follows:
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"Mainly family holiday, so no Desertas or Zino's trip but some nice birding. Fantastic to see thousands of Cory's and hear them calling at night from our hotel balcony at Cliff Bay Hotel. Most interesting sightings were": Fea's/Zino's
Petrels: 7 from Porto Santo ferry on 24/8, all near airport, some
at close range. Also 2 Porto Moniz 25/8. Fin Whale! 1+ blowing and surfacing Porto Moniz 25/8 and 27/8 The sightings kindly provided by Elizabeth Watson, UK |
8-22nd August 2005: Frank Engelen (Netherlands) have kindly provided some great sightings from his trip as follows:
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Great
Shearwater:
108 towards west at Porto Moniz on 19th August (between 08:00-11:00h),
and another 366 between 17:00-20:00h (very nice day!) at the same
place and date. (Also, have a look below for the occurrence of this
species on the specific date eds.). The sightings provided by Frank Engelen, Netherlands |
12-21st August 2005: Bosse Carlsson (Tour leader for StOF, Sweden) have kindly provided sightings from their trip as follows:
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Hi, I hereby send you a short report from our two-day boat tour to Desertas on 18-19th. Today, 20th, we will visit Porto Santo. I send you a full report when back home in Sweden next week. Sightings
during our Desertas tour with Ventura do Mar on 18-19th: Sightings provided via SMS by Bosse Carlsson, Sweden |
2nd-9th August 2005: Per Anders Bertilsson & Stefan Cherrug (Sweden) have kindly provided sightings from their trip as follows:
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Fea's/Zino's
Petrel: 2 Porto Moniz on 3rd August and one there on 5th. One probable
seen from the ferry Funchal-Porto Moniz on 8th August. Sightings provided by Per Anders Bertilsson & Stefan Cherrug, Sweden |
2nd-9th August 2005: Ken Adelsten Jensen, Jarl Nystrøm, Frank Nikolaisen & Geir Sverre Andersen (Norway) have kindly provided some nice sightings from their trip as follows:
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Manx Shearwater:
2-3 at Porto Moniz on 6th August. The sightings are provided by Geir Sverre Andersen, Norway |
1st-8th August 2005: Hugh Harrop (Shetland Islands, UK), Alex Bevan, Phil Bristow Judd Hunt & Martyn Watkins (Wales, UK) have kindly provided some great sightings from their trip as follows:
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Zino's
Petrel:
minimum of 2 birds at Pico do Arieiro 5/8. We were guided by Madeira
Wind Birds who provided a superb service and very knowledgeable
guide in Catarina Fagundes. Cetaceans
and other marine The sightings are provided by Hugh Harrop, Shetland Islands, UK |
1st-8th August 2005: HG Karlsson (Tour leader for AviFauna, Sweden) have kindly provided some nice sightings from their trip as follows:
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Fea's Petrel:
7 off Bugio on 6th August. Here
you find their short report, though in Swedish, and many nice photos
(External link)» The sightings are provided by HG Karlsson, Sweden |
25th July-2nd August 2005: David Allen (UK) have kindly provided some nice sightings from his journey as follows:
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Just posting the highlights of my recent trip (with partner) to the island – great place: Thanks to "Ventura do Mar" for their excellent evening run (check Paul & Anderea Kellys report below as they were on the same trip) into Funchal Bay. The macronesian species were all very straightforward including Madeiran Firecrests in the Atrio garden. Porto Moniz was my favoured seawatch spot being closest to our lovely hotel (the Atrio near Calheta). One dawn seawatch (30/7) for 2 1/2 hours was not surprisingly the most productive. Winds were only force 2-3 NE. Watching at other times of day did produce a few birds eventually, most notably a single Little Shearwater and the odd Bulwers Petrel - the latter being frequent on the dawn seawatch. Highlights: Porto
Moniz on 30th July
(07-00 to 09-00) NE 2-3 Porto
Moniz on 29th July
(15-30 to 16-30) WNW 3-4 Other
species of interest: The sightings are provided by David Allen, UK |
25-30th July 2005: Paul & Andrea Kelly (Ireland) have kindly provided photos and brief info from their one-week visit to Madeira (and Desertas Islands). You'll find more info on their website (link below), which also contains many excellent photos from their trip:
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"We landed on Maderia on July 25th to be greeted by 3 Barn Owls on route from the airport to the hotel which was based in Funchal the capital and a perfect central location for birding. We birded Funchal Harbour most days for Atlantic Herring Gulls and a Ring-Billed Gull, Ribeirio Frio for Trocaz Pigeon and Firecrest which were easy. Ponta da Cruz (Funchal) was accessible from the hotel resort for morning seawatching which produced 1 Fea's/Zino's Petrel and thousands of Cory's Shearwaters and Bulwer's Petrels…" Read the full story and view many excellent bird photos on their website (external link) here» The sightings and photos are provided by Paul and Andrea Kelly, Ireland |
19th July-2nd August 2005: Stefan Magnusson (Sweden) have kindly provided photos and a short report from his visit:
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"Summary: A very nice two-week journey with my girlfriend! Unfortunately the two-day trip to Desertas had to be cancelled (thus no attempt on Madeiran Storm-Petrel). But on the good side: Zino's Petrel, Little and Balearic Shearwater, Ring-billed Gull, several Barn Owls, Turtle Dove, Rock Sparrows, Red-legged Partridge and [Wood duck] amongst a lot of other nice birds (as well as a lovely vacation in all) sure must be graded as very good!" "At 21:30 we were picked up by Amílcar from "Madeira Aventura" for a guided tour to Pico do Areeiro and the breeding site for Zino's Petrel. We heard several birds calling when arriving at nests. A few birds (silhouettes) seen". Here you find Stefan's full trip report, which contains many nice photos (Word 1,1 MB)» The sightings and photos are provided by Stefan Magnusson, Sweden |
11-18th July 2005: Chris Batty (UK) have kindly provided photos of two nice sightings. The words below by Chris:
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"I have just returned from a week in Madeira and thought you may be interested to know that there was a 1st-summer Ring-billed Gull in Funchal harbour on 17th July. The only other sighting of note was 4 Killer Whales from the boat 'Ventura do Mar' off Deserta Grande on 15th July." The sightings and photos are provided by Chris Batty, UK |
3rd-5th July 2005: Hans Bister, Bosse Carlsson, Göran Ekström, Niklas Holmström and Dan Zetterström (Sweden). We birded Madeira for three full days before we sailed off to Selvagens Islands on a five-day boat tour with Ventura do Mar in early morning on 6th July. Here you'll find a short report until the full trip report from Madeira is added to this web site:
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The main reason for this trip to Madeira was to sail to the Selvagens Islands with the boat "Ventura do Mar", which we had chartered. Because of the unpredictable weather, especially the wind conditions, we booked flight with three full days in margin. As the north-east trade wind was very hard during the period we weren't able to sail off until Wednesday 6th July, and not on Monday 4th July as planned. This short report just cover our three full days birding in Madeira and a very nice pelagic evening trip with "Ventura do Mar" on Sunday 3rd July, with only birders onboard: the participants of Celtic Bird Tours, Frank Zino and his wife Elizabeth and we, the five Swedes, and of course the crew onboard; Filipe Alves and Luis Dias. The full trip report from our three days birding tour in Madeira will be available on this site within a week from now and the Selvagens trip report and several photo galleries from that trip will be put on the net in mid September when one or two articles in well-known birding magazines see its release. Cory's Shearwater:
Seen everywhere along the coast. The pelagic trip on Sunday 3rd
offered numerous of close and nice views. Also about 1000's were
seen from Ponta da Cruz in early morning on 5th July. Other animals »
The full trip report from Madeira will be available in the end of
July. By Niklas Holmström, Sweden |
2nd & 3rd June 2005: Filipe Alves & Luis Dias (Ventura do Mar, Madeira) have kindly provide a nice sighting from their half-day trip off southern Madeira. The words below by Filipe:
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"I saw one White-faced Storm-petrel on 2nd June and the day after Luis Dias saw another one a on the same location, about 3 nautical miles south off Cabo Girão (west of Funchal). This time I had the great opportunity to take many photos of the bird, I hereby send you a few pictures, which you use and add to the web site." See you soon |
25th April-2nd May 2005: Reija Heinonen (Finland) have kindly provide sightings from her one-week combined holiday as follows, with her own words below:
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Just got back from Madeira having spent a week on a family holiday. This restricted most serious birding, but I managed to see a fair selection of what the archipelago has to offer. All the "must see" species where present like Berthelot's Pipit (Ponta de Sao Lourenco) and Trocaz Pigeon (near Rosàrio). Blackbird, Chaffinch, Grey Wagtail, Atlantic Canary, Blackcap, Robin, Madeiran Firecrest, Goldfinch, Linnet, Spanish Sparrow, Buzzard, Kestrel, Yellow-legged Gull, Little Egret, Turnstone, Corys's Shearwater and Plain Swift proved easy and were added to the list with little effort. On our visit to nearby Porto Santo on 28th April I had a bit over an hour time to watch birds at the Tanque pond. To mention some of the species: Spanish Sparrow (several), Spoonbill (1), White Stork (migrating N), Hoopoe and Moorhen (5). All in all I had a lovely week on a lovely group of islands. The next visit will definitely be pure birding though! With regards (Note by the site editor: Spoonbill are very scarce, mainly in winter on Porto Santo and White Stork haven't been reported at all from the archipelago the past six years). |
14th-25th April 2005: Gary Atkins (UK) have kindly provide sightings from his ten-day combined holiday as follows, with his own words below:
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My wife and I had been to Lisbon for three enjoyable (but unexciting birding) days before flying into Funchal Airport on a TAP Boeing 737 on April 14. We were staying 10 nights at the Jardins d'Ajuda hotel in the 'hotel zone' west of Funchal, and near to the Ponta da Cruz. My wife is not in the slightest interested in birds, so most of my bird-watching came in snatched moments and a few early-morning walks. Despite that I mustered a reasonable list around the coast and in the island's spectacular interior. There were a couple of specific sites that were good. One was the Lugar de Baixo where I saw as many as 20 Turnstones together with smaller numbers of Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Mallard, Moorhen and a single Little Egret. Another was the Machico river outflow to the sea, where there were good quantities of Turnstone again, up to half a dozen Little Egrets a couple of Common Gulls. I was disappointed not to see Common Waxbills here, but later saw them on the Pico da Cruz. I visited the Ponta de Sao Lourenco twice, and birds seen there included Berthelot's Pipit, Swallows, Plain Swifts, House Martins, Canaries, Rock Dove, and a couple of surprises - a Collared Dove and a pair of Common Mynas (which might have confused me, except I'd seen them in Hong Kong and New Zealand on another recent holiday, so they unmistakable). I also dropped into Canical briefly and duly saw the Spanish Sparrow colony. Finally, on the last full day I went to Ponta do Pargo, and was glad I stopped near the lighthouse. A walk just inland from there yielded not only Berthelot's Pipits, Canaries, Goldfinches and a couple of Little Egrets; I also flushed a pair of Red-Legged Partridges, saw my only Rock Sparrows on the island and, biggest surprise of all, came across a White Stork probing some flat farmland. I suppose it was just passing through. One interesting experience involved a Barn Owl on the slopes of the Pico da Cruz above the hotel zone. I'd found the Levada dos Piornais that runs between the west of Funchal and Areeiro and was just setting off for an early morning stroll, when I heard a 'plop' in the water behind me. It was an owl and was clearly saturated; I picked it out and put it on the bank, but it struggled and fell in again. I then put it further back, behind some vegetation, but it was obvious the owl was in a bad way. So I picked it up (with a few scratches from its talons) and, with directions from an English-speaking passer-by, took it down to a police station near the coast. There was no-one there, but another kind passer-by pointed to a building, told me it was a marine life research institute, and suggested they might be more likely to treat an owl with kindness, anyway. He was right - and despite no language communication, the institute staff understood the situation and took the owl off me and placed it in a box. I sincerely hope they were about to take it to the animal rescue organisation the first passer-by had told me about! The full list of birds I saw (and in roughly the order I saw them, rather than the in systemmatic order) were: Plain Swift, Little Egret, Turnstone, Blackbird, Wren, Yellow-legged Gull, Blackcap, Mallard, Canary, Rock Dove, Common Gull, Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, Common Tern, Kestrel, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Robin, Swallow, Swift, Berthelot's Pipit, Barn Owl, Trocaz Pigeon (in Blandy's Garden), Chaffinch, Madeiran Firecrest, Coot, Moorhen, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Spanish Sparrow, Collared Dove, Common Myna, House Martin, Common Waxbill, White Stork, Red-legged Partridge and Rock Sparrow. That's 37, which seems to be pretty much 'par for the course' for 10 days on Madeira, but not bad without any shearwaters or petrels. The sightings
reported by Gary
Atkins, Derbyshire, UK (Note by the site editor: White Stork haven't been reported at all from the archipelago the past six years. Possibly the same bird migrating north at Porto Santo 28th April. The Collared Dove could be one of the birds from Canical, present in the area since September 2004). |
10th-17th April 2005: Richard Allen (UK) have kindly provide sightings from his one-week combined holiday as follows:
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"My wife and I had a very enjoyable week on Madeira. We travelled with Explore, spending our time walking the levadas, taking in the spectacular scenery, doing some birding and generally relaxing. We stayed in Funchal, Santana, Porto Moniz and Ribeira Brava, and had a day trip to Porto Santo. Here some sightings:" Cory's Shearwater:
100's in evening on 12th from Porto Moniz, and from Ribeira Brava
on 13th. Hundred also seen from Porto Santo ferry on 16th, especially
around Sao Lourenco headland on outward trip and near Porto Santo
on return. The sightings reported by Richard Allen, UK |
28th March-11th April 2005: Derek Shannon (Scotland) have kindly provide sightings from his two-week combined holiday as follows:
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"My wife and I are just back from a great holiday in Madeira. This was our first visit to Madeira and we stayed at the Dom Pedro Garajau for two weeks. The weather was great with only one heavy shower of rain when we were in the Botanic Gardens. We did a lot of walks along the levadas, bird watching as we walked. Here is a list of the birds that we saw over a fortnight of not too intensive bird watching": Cory's Shearwater:
Heard but not seen at the statue of Christ Garajau in evening on
7th April. The sightings reported by Derek Shannon, Scotland |
7th April 2005: Walter Veale and David Monroe (Ireland), Catarina Fagundes and André Freitas (Madeira Wind Birds) report following sightings:
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"During a guided night trip to Pico do Arieiro we heard several Zino's Petrels and one Manx Shearwater between 22:30 until midnight." The sightings reported by Catarina Fagundes, Madeira Wind Birds |
3rd April 2005: Roger Börjesson (Sweden) report directly from Madeira of interesting sightings concerning the Zino's Petrel as follows:
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"My wife
and I visited Pico do Arieiro in late evening on Sunday 3rd April,
of course along with our excellent guide Amílcar Vasconcelos
from Madeira Aventura. According to Amílcar, who was a bit
sceptical to the possibility of hearing and seeing the Zino's this
early in season, he had never been at the breeding ledges earlier
than late April. You'll find
his trip report (29 March-5 April) in the report
section» The story reported via mobile phone by Roger Börjesson, Sweden |
14-21st March 2005: Peter Rutherford (UK) have kindly provide sightings from his one-week stay as follows:
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Apart from the usual I saw a couple of Mediterranean Gulls (1st year) birds on pier off Funchal on 18th + about 12 Turnstones. Also 8 Turnstones in new harbour at Porto Moniz on 19th. At least one Lesser Kestrel seen in woodland near the Levada de Norte (Encumeada) on the 17th. Few Pallid Swifts off the Lido area on most days. Quite a few Greenfinches flying around the Botanical Garden. The turnstones
were unusual as on 4 previous visits I have never seen any at all. The sightings reported by Peter Rutherford, UK |
12-19th March 2005: Petri Parkko & Niina Rinne (Finland) have kindly provide sightings from their stay as follows:
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We spent one week in Madeira 12th March to 19th March 2005. We watched birds near Funchal and also in Ribeiro Frio. We walked from Ribeiro Frio to Portela (levada) and spent 1 day in Porto Santo. Cory's Shearwater:
We saw 19 Cory's Shearwaters during the ferry-trip to Porto Santo
14th March. At the same day we saw 6 birds near Porto Santo. The sightings reported by Petri Parkko and Niina Rinne, Finland |
22nd February-1st March 2005: Stefan Cherrug (Sweden) have kindly provide sightings from his one-week stay as follows:
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Besides the usually seen land bird specialties such as Chaffinch, Berthelot's Pipit, Madeira Firecrest and so on, Stefan also recorded species as follows: Little Egret:
1 at Machico on 25th February. You will find more photos, itinerary and a full species list on Stefan's web page here» All sightings above by Stefan Cherrug, Sweden |
24th January-7th February 2005: Niels Henrik Valerius (Denmark) have kindly provide sightings and photos from his combined two-week holiday as follows:
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I spent on Madeira with my wife and 101 year old mother, none of whom are birders, some acitivity was limited also due to bad weather, particularly in the mountains. I saw the following birds of interest: Manx
Shearwater:
Recorded from our balcony at Hotel Pestana Bay (immediately west
of Punta Cruz) in numbers as follows: 24.1. 5 on 24th, 10 on 25th,
6 on 26th January and a single on 4th February. All were seen in
the evfening before sunset, most migrating west but a few resting
on the water, all pretty far out only visible with binoculars and
identifiable with scope. The sightings reported by Niels Henrik Valerius, Denmark |
6-12th January 2005: Raphael Jordan (France) have kindly provide sightings and photos from his visit as follows:
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Besides the
usually seen breeding species and specialties following are worthy
of mention: A total of 37
species were recorded during the one-week trip! See the photo
gallery section for more photos by Raphael. The sightings reported by Raphael Jordan, France |
1-15th January 2005: Hannu Klemola (Finland) have kindly provided sightings from his visit as follows:
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Besides the
usually seen species and specialties following are worthy of mention: A total of 48
species were recorded during the two-week trip! The sightings reported by Hannu Klemola, Turku, Finland |
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