And just like that I have my third trip in May, after Kazakhstan then Spain, I'm off to Madeira., technically we travelled out on the last day 31st of May. This time it was to celebrate Gary's 41st birthday along with Kristian Wade and Tobie Wharton. We booked with Wind Birds who run many pelagic boat trips in search of the birds and cetaceans, most of which may also be seen from boats between the main island and the second largest island Porto Santo. And run ur close to the Desertas Islands and churn out chum to attract the birds. Also on the hit list was the endemic Madeiran birds such as the Madeiran firecrest, the Trocaz pigeon and the Madeiran chaffinch.
Machico Stream
Common Waxbill: We stayed in a small village in the southeastern part of the island, a stunning little village nestled within a deep valley, surrounded by lush steep slopes that somewhat resemble the opening helicopter scenes from Jurassic Park!
Grey Wagtail: Machico also has some really nice beaches, a rare thing on a volcanic island. They are one of the biggest attractions of the area, and in particular the two beaches located in the town centre, São Roque and Praia da Banda Além. The former, to the right of the mouth of the stream that divides the town in two, is a pebble beach with some black sand that occupies most of the bay of Machico.
The stream that runs right down the centre of Machico is a hotspot for birding, Maderia doesn't have a lot of bird species to see and its areas like this were you can see the odd rarity along with the common stiff like waxbills and grey wags.
Glossy Ibis: A scarce bird on the island was this stunning glossy ibis, it has been resident for a number of weeks and was happy living its best life on the stream. It favoured the area near the mouth of the river and the small green patch towards the end.
We chose to stay here as the Wind Bird tours go from the small pier in Machico. This area is flanked by the large esplanade that connects the Forum Machico and Nossa Senhora do Amparo fort, as well as various tourist services and facilities, from restaurants and bars. It's always recommended to eat well before a pelagic, along with some sea sickness tablets, it all helps the queasy feeling out at sea.
Ringed Teal: Kristian and I found this duck amongst the resident and tickable Muscovy ducks that were in high numbers up and down Machico stream. However, this ringed duck was not tickable, its was a typical escapee sporting a wildfowl ring.
Atlantic Canary: These were everywhere, we saw them over the town to right outside our apartment, they are all over Machico stream too. Waxbill were very showy along the stream, there were areas under the bridges going over the stream where the Muscovy ducks are supplementary feeding and the split seed attracts the smaller birds.
Blackcap: Probably the most common bird across the island is the blackcap, their song was heard all over the place.
Day 1 - Wing Birds Pelagic
Bulwer's Petrel: Wind Birds have on offer a selection of pelagic tours including their 'flagship' three days of ultimate pelagic expedition focused on petrels, storm petrels, shearwaters and any other vagrant bird species that might be around the North Atlantic Ocean.
This is a brilliant birding experience that consists of observing closely the greatest number of tubenoses on the Western Palearctic and some close encounters with whales and dolphins too.
Cory's Shearwater: The palagics are headed up by Catarina Fagundes and Hugo Romano who know how to find the hot spots for seabirds such as Zino's petrels, Fea's/Desertas petrels, Madeiran petrel and white-faced storm petrel.
On the first pelagic we left Machico pier at 15:30 and headed north, passing right through Ilheu do Farol gap. A rough part of sea that cuts through the long rocky peninsular. The sea was pretty calm in the main bay but once on the northern side of the island things turned very rough and the inflater bale rib ride became a white knuckle ride.
European Storm-Petrel: These were the perfect conditions, you get more shearwater and petrel activity in windy, rougher seas.
We headed around 15 kilometres north somewhat between Porto Santo, a small island 43 kilometres (27 mi) northeast of Madeira.
Zino's Petrel: The ride out was pretty exciting and at times, a little scary with the rib bouncing off 8ft high waves and crashing down with a thud. It wasn't long before we had
Bulwer's and Cory's following the boat. And once we stopped and deployed the chum we didn't have to wait long before we heard the loud shouts of "PTERODROOOMMAAA" and just like that a large pale petrel approached the rib and whizzed right past us.
Just one pass, right past the left hand side of the rib and up the slick that had formed from the oily chum that was drifting on the waves.
Wilson's Petrel: Wind Birds have a slightly different approach to Scilly Pelagics, for anyone who has been lucky enough to go out with Bob Flood and his team.
Firstly the chum is placed in a floating bucket, not attached to the side of the boat and thrown overboard. This means the rib has to motor up the slick periodically, then drift down before motoring back up. I liked this approach as it gave us a chance to get closer to any birds that might be feeding on the slick.
The rib has stabilised shock absorbing seats, although they do work and take some of the power out of the bouncing and rolling they are pretty uncomfortable, and prone to breaking.
The Pterodroma we had was confirmed as a Zino's, one of our target birds and one I was looking forward to seeing the most as they are mythical Scilly Pelagic birds and I've always wanted to see one.
Along with Zino's, we had Leach's, Euro's and Wilson's flying around the floating chum bucket.
A great first day.
Day 3 - Wind Birds Pelagic
Bulwer's Petrel: The next day we headed south approximately perpendicular to Funchal, a much more calmer day and hotter. We were surrounded by Bulwer's and Cory's once again on the outbound journey.
Desertas Petrel: However today we had many more sightings of "PTERODROOOMMAAA" with the addition of Deserters.
Typically Zino's have a thicker, heavier looking bill and more white on the unerring while Desertas have a thick, chunky bill and darker underwing, this is simplified but the bill structure is a key feature. Many of the Desertas didn't come close to the rib and were observed flying over the waves.
Madeira Storm-Petrel: Otherwise known as the band-rumped petrel this was on top of my list of birds to see, you can't come to Madeira and do a pelagic and miss the Madeiran stormy.
Leach's Petrel: Similar to Euro stormy, Mandarin have a wedge spaded tail but lack the white under wing patches and are slightly larger in size than their more common cousins.
This species breeds on islands in the warmer parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. These include the Berlengas (a few tens of kilometres off mainland Portugal), the Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Saint Helena in the Atlantic, and in the Pacific of eastern Japan, on Kauai, Hawaii, and on the Galápagos Islands.
Zinos' Petrel: Zino's are one of the rarest seabirds in our ocseans. With approximatley 65-80 pairs, it is presumed that their entire population can't be more than a couple of hundred individuals. During the day they feed at sea, and it is only at night that the they come to land on their breeding grounds. Only two colonies are known, and both are in the highest mountains of Madeira, nearly 2000m above sea level.
Bulwer's Petrel: With the sun beating down on us while in our waterproof trousers it was tough going today, tired and hot I was keen to get back on dry land. But, before we did we had a small group of Maxies fly past the rib.
Manx Shearwater: This soon woke us all up and gave us a bit of an adrenaline rush as we were hoping they might be Barolo Shearwater, a smaller cousin of the Manx. But, alas we had to settle for the much more common Maxie.
Day 3 Wind Birds Pelagic
European Storm-Petrel: This was our third and final Wind Birds Pelagic of the trip and after speaking with the other group of blokes from Spain we found out that one of them were back on these tours after attending last year.
This would have been his sixth Wind Birds Pelagic and he had yet to see white-faced storms, so I felt like our odds had increased. This guys luck had to change soon right?
In fact, this blokes luck never imporved and we didn't see any white-faced storms on any of our trips out on the rib. But, on our third day we got a huge group of Euros flying up and down the slick and feeding around the floating chum bucket.
Desertas Petrel: We had up to 15 Euros flapping around the boat, an incredible sight and although I was disappointed we didn't connect with the white-faced storms this was defiantly a real treat. Another big treat was having several Desertas fly right up close past us on more than one occasion.
We even spotted a few oursleves and were able to shout out the obligatory
"PTERODROOOMMAAA"
to alert everyone to the incoming bird.
The Desertas petrel get it's name from their breeding grounds, which are pronounced "Dez-ERT-ass" they breed on Bugio Island in the Desertas off Madeira.
Their often similar appearance have caused the taxonomy of the group to be rather fluid. Although the systematics on this species has not yet been definitively established, provisionally some authorities have split the Desertas petrel, separating the Desertas breeding birds from those in the Cape Verde archipelago, while others consider it a subspecies of the Fea's petrel.
It was exciting and the whole boat was thrilled each and every time a Zino's or Desertas petrel flew past, everyone would stand up camera in hand, reach to shoot and pin down ID features.
European Storm-Petrel: Flying low over the water, the tiny Euro storm petrels’ feet skim the waves as it searches for food, sometimes giving the impression that it is running across the surface.
Yellow-legged Gull: On reflection these Wind Bird Pelagics were sensational, I would say they are a must for any avid birder. They are like birders-pilgrimage, an inherently transient experience, removing the participant from his or her home environment and lead to a special experience before return to daily life.
There is a wealth of knowledge and understanding that both Hugo and Catarina have and are happy to share, however there were times it was left to the other pilgrims on the rib to shout out the sightings and share identifications. I would have liked a bit more interaction and information from Hugo and Catarina.
European Storm-Petrel: On the return journey Gary shouted Barolo, as a small Manx was resting on the water before taking off quickly and disappearing, it was the only one we saw. Top job pal.
Day 4 Wind Birds Madeira Birdwatching Half Day Tour and Palheiro Gardens
Trocaz Pigeon: The following day after our final palagic we were booked on to the half day birding tour. We started by heading out to a residential area close to Funchal were we ticked the Trocaz. But here we had good, if distant views.
There are indeed several mounted examples of this magnificent pigeon in the Funchal Natural History Museum but, if you want to see them up close and personal you should go to Palheiro Gardens.
There is now an established population here an it's believed there might be several dozen living in the woods and feeding off the Laurels, Holm oaks and kindred trees.
The Madeira Trocaz pigeon lived exclusively in the laurel forests on the north of the island and fed on laurel berries; when they ventured out to eat newly planted cabbage, furious farmers used to shoot them and so the population was in decline.
Madeira Chaffinch: Much of this continues to be true though birds are seen in small pockets of laurel forest on the southern side of the island and have now been protected for many years. The population is now believed to be increasing.
Wind Birds do take you to several locations and its almost guaranteed that you will see the Trocaz, but if you want some pictures or a better view go to Palheiro Gardens. We did this after we got dropped off back at our villa, it was about 25€ in a taxi and 11€ entry fee.
While at the gardens we also had point blank views of this female Madeira chaffinch feeding amongst the well maintained borders.
Madeira Firecrest: Hugo also took us to an area of the laurel forests up near Monte. This area was stunning, lush, and green nestled within the could line itself. The firecrest were calling all around us and it didn't take long before we saw our first bird forging in the tees and shrubs.
These tiny Madeira endemics are essentially identical to common firecrest. They are smaller than a Phylloscopus warbler, with a distinctive combination of a boldly striped head, white wingbars, and bronzy-golden patch on each side of the neck. The males have a fiery orange crown stripe, while the females have a yellow one.
Madeira Chaffinch: We also had a showy male chaffinch in this same area. We were thrilled to have seen all three endemic Madeiran birds on the Wind Birds Madeira Birdwatching Half Day Tour. Good company and good birds.
Madeira Firecrest: Once we had our fill of the birds in the laurel forests Hugo took us to Península de São Lourenço to tick the speccy warbler, pipit and rock sparrow. It was only when we got dropped back off at our apartment that we decided to spend the rest of the day at Palheiro Gardens and tog away.
Monarch Butterfly: These beautiful massive butterflies where everywhere in Madeira, it was the first thing we saw when arrived at the airport. Monarch butterflies are resident in large parts of southern Europe, notably Madeira, the Canary Islands and the Azores.
Day 5 Caniçal Viewpoint
Spectacled Warbler: This was pretty much our last chance to get out and do some birding before flying home, and I was unable to resist the urge to go and tog some of the birds that I had yesterday and to get better bloggable pictures.
Kristian and I took a taxi from Machico to the Caniçal Viewpoint and it cost about 10€ and took around 15 minutes to get there.
Located on Península de São Lourenço, a Natural Monument, its landscape is dominated by steep coastal cliffs unobsructed views of the sea. Furthermore, this area located in the parish of Caniçal, on the eastern tip of the island, deserves special attention for the underlying richness of its flora and fauna.
Berthelot's Pipit: Its semi-arid climate and exposure to north winds are the reason behind the predominance of creepers and the absence of trees - a landscape that could hardly be in sharper contrast with Madeira's characteristic green forests.
All along this peninsular you can find Berthelot's pipit, a small bird that is endemic to the Canary Islands, and is fairly common on Maderia. They love rocky areas, so you will usually see them along the rugged coastal sections, but they are also common inland on the grasslands.
You can’t miss this small pipit, who has an almost upright position, and is extremely active, running and flitting between the rocks. They can often be seen perched on elevated rocks singing and displaying overhead.
It was great up here, although this part of the island has a low variety of bird species the birds you can see up here are pretty good. We had dozens of Atlantic canary feeding close to the fence line of the wether station. They showed really well and were occasionally accompanyed by rock sparrow.
Atlantic canaries are native to the Canary Islands, Azores, and Madeira. They don't migrate and can be found in a wide variety of habitats from pine and laurel forests to sand dunes, orchards and copses and frequently occur in man-made habitats such as parks and gardens.
Atlantic Canary: We also had a few kestrel up here, these are also widely distributed in Madeira, we had them over our apartment in Machico and they cabe be found close to the sea and right up to the mountain summits.
We also attended the Wind Birds Zino's Petrel Night Expedition Experience in the evening where we embarked upon a twilight walk, with the night air full of the scent of endemic mountain herbs. walking by touch light we treversed around sharp bends and up bare rock footpaths to a small peak.
Standing in the dark on a narrow ridge held back by a small chainlink fence, just wide enough for us to cross in single file as a cushion of clouds hide the precipitous depths below e waited, and waited for Europe's rarest seabird, on its breeding grounds on Madeira's highest peaks.
Out of the darkness we heard the ghostly owl like screech of the Zino's emanating between the cliff faces. We even saw a few silhouetted birds against the moonlight sky as the Zino's calls increased and intensified. This was a sensational birding experience.
Rock Sparrow: The Wind Birds Zino's Petrel Night Expedition Experience is definately worth booking, its a great experience and really enjoyable.
From start to finish, including the Wind Bird Pelagics, I can't recommend this trip highly enough, Hugo and Catarina are friendly, relaxed and knowledgeable. You're collected and dropped off at your hotel which makes it an easy trip. A great trip for any birdwatchers who want to also see flora and fauna and differing the sights of Madeira. Also recommended for those who want to learn more about birds and the Island.
Madeira is absolute stunning, unlike Fuerteventura which I have visited before this island is green, lush and tropical in nature, I found Fuerteventura more typical to a rugged, Barron, rocky volcanic island. The streets, towns and main city are also very pleasant places to walk and visit with lost of enjoyable things to see and do and eat.
A big happy birthday to Gary, I hope you had a good one mate, I certainly did. Good company, good food and very good birding.
Please see below for the Wind Birds link, and get booking.....
We ended on 40 species for the trip and I ended up with 10 new lifers. See species list below.
Species List
1. Plain swift
2. Blackbird
3. Collared dove
4. Feral pigeon
5. Common tern
6. Blackcap
7. Yellow-legged gull
8. Atlantic canary
9. Kestrel
10. Muscovy duck
11. Mallard
12. Moorhen
13. Common waxbill
14. Grey heron
15. Grey wagtail
16. Whimbrel
17. Cory’s shearwater
18. Bulwer’s petrel
19. Leach’s storm-petrel
20. European storm-petrel
21. Zino’s petrel
22. Wilson’s petrel
23. Glossy ibis
24. Madeiran storm-petrel
25. Desertas petrel
26. Manx shearwater
27. Common swift
28. Barolo shearwater
29. Trocaz pigeon
30. Robin
31. Madeira firecrest
32. Madeira chaffinch
33. Spectacled warbler
34. Berthelot’s pipit
35. Rock sparrow
36. Goldfinch 3
7. Buzzard
38. Barn owl (H)
39. Sandwich/Roseate tern
40. Pallid swift
The Desertas petrel get it's name from their breeding grounds, which are pronounced "Dez-ERT-ass" they breed on Bugio Island in the Desertas off Madeira. 
