Madeira Wind Birds - Madeira Trip Reports

Madeira trip report by Peter Ransome (UK)

Mon, 12 May 2008 23:05:36 +0100

Peter Ransome from UK kindly provided Madeira Wind Birds with his special birdwatching records while his was in Madeira from the 23rd to the 30th of April 2008:

"I had a great trip to Madeira seeing 2 new birds- about 8 Zino's Petrels- with 1 really close flying just a few feet away! seen on special night trip up in the mountains (thanks for this!) & 4 Trocaz Pigeons- 2 in flight at Balcoes 24/4 & 2 in flight at Levada de Risco 29/4. I saw 39 species in total.

Also saw the madeiran sub species of Chaffinch, Spectacled warbler, Sparrowhawk, Firecrest & Grey Wagtail.

Also found quite a few migrants inc. Night heron 29/4 (I have record shots of this) which flew up from the small canal behind the grassy area where the Green-Winged Teal near the Hydro-Electric Plant at Ribeira de Janela was asleep(accidental on Madeira), 2 Squacco Heron 29/4 at lugar de baixo (also accidental), 2 Wood Sandpiper at lugar de Baixo 29/4(also accidental amazingly enough!!), Yellow wagtail, Ruff- 1 at lugar de Baixo 29/4, singleton Whimbrel- Ponta do Pargo 25/4, I also saw a group of 10 Bee-eater fly overhead from the start of the Levada walk at Ribeira de Janela near the artificial reservoir from 1.30pm flying south 27/4(scarce visitor), Greenshank- 2 at Lugar de Baixo 29/4 (amazingly rare on Madeira).

Also saw Atlantic herring Gulls, Grey heron, Spanish Sparrow and 5 Rock sparrows at extreme east tip of the island 26/4- my first for 25 yrs! Several groups of Plain Swifts seen.

Seawatching from the hotel bedroom inc. Manx & Cory's Shearwaters every night, 2 distant Shearwaters that MIGHT have been Little but not happy to tick these, so I'm not!"

Porto Santo trip report by Riccardo Del Togno (ITA)

Mon, 12 May 2008 23:16:44 +0100

A trip report from Porto Santo, from last week of April 2008, was kindly sent to Madeira Wind Birds by Riccardo Del Togno from Italy:

"I was on holiday with my wife and my little son, so I could not make a deep complete birdwatching as I would have liked to. Unfortunately I did not take photos, only observations.

I rent a car for one day only, and made a complete tour of Porto Santo and could see some birds. Some others I have seen near the hotel place in Vila Baleira.

Please find here below the list of the birds I have seen:

- Grey Heron 1
- Black Kite 1
- Marsh Harrier 1
- Pallid harrier 1 juv.
- Sanderling
- Turnstone
- Whimbrel
- Bee-Eater
- Barn Swallow
- Red Rumped Swallow
- House Martin
- Black Redstart
- Stonechat
- Wood Warbler
- Spotted flycatcher
- Pied Flycatcher

Spanish Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, Goldfinch, Serin, Canary, Blackcap, Berthelot's Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Hoopoe, Common Tern, Plain Swift, Quail, Kestrel, Common Buzzard 1, Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans

- I found it dead on the street crashed by a car : Little Bittern."

More vagrant bird news in Madeira Island

Sat, 03 May 2008 02:25:09 +0100

Two more days of birdwatching and some more species of vagrant birds recorded...

Thursday, 1st May 2008
Pico do Areeiro
Dozens of House Martins Delichon urbica
23 Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica
2 Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus

Paúl da Serra
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus
Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus
9 Wheatears Oenanthe oenanthe
Few House Martins Delichon urbica
Some Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica
2 Sand Martins Riparia riparia
3 Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica

Friday, 2nd May 2008
In Lugar de Baixo
Grey plover Pluvialis squatarola
Ruff Philomachus pugnax - female juvenile
2Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
3 Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Ringged Plover Charadrius hiaticula
Redshank Tringa totanus
Dunlin Calidris alpina

Caniçal
Dozens of House Martins Delichon urbica
Hundreds of Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica
Some Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica
Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus
Booted eagle Aquila pennata
3 Whimbrels Numenius phaeopus
Willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
Wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix
Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata
5 Bee-eaters Merops apiaster
12 Yellow wagtails Motacilla flava

Machico
Some House Martins Delichon urbica
Many Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica
Some Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica
2 Sand Martins Riparia riparia
Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Full days (literally) through Madeira Nature!

Thu, 01 May 2008 13:09:33 +0100

Two literally full-days around Madeira Nature gave us some more records of vagrant birds, plus new record of species seen in just one day in Madeira! Here are the vagrant birds seen in each day:

Tuesday, 29th April 2008

In Lugar de Baixo
Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides
Ruff Philomachus pugnax - female juvenile
Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
2 Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

In Ponta do Pargo
Around 20 Yellow wagtails Motacilla flava
Stonechat Saxicola torquata
8 Whinchats Saxicola rubetra - less than 5 records for Madeira Island (first on 2003)
Some House Martins Delichon urbica
Many Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica
4 Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica - first records were on 2002 but have been seen this year already
Grey Heron Arderea Cinerea

Wednesday, 30th April 2008

In Ponta do Pargo
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus - female
Around 14 Yellow wagtails Motacilla flava iberiae
3 Whinchats Saxicola rubetra
3 Wheaters Oenanthe oenanthe
1 Desert Wheater Oenanthe deserti - Less than 5 records during last 50 years
More than 15 House Martins Delichon urbica
More than 70 Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica
2 Sand Martins Riparia riparia -
4 Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica
Grey Heron Arderea Cinerea

In Porto Moniz
Blue Headed Wagtail Motacilla flava ...
Green-wingged Teal Anas carolinensis - In Ribeira da Janela

In Lugar de Baixo
Ruff Philomachus pugnax - female juvenile
Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
2 Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Madalena do Mar
2 Black Terns Chlidonias niger - flying west along the coast - fewer than 5 records in Madeira on the last 50 years
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica - flying west along the coast
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
2 Grey Heron Arderea Cinerea

Erik & Marianne Mølgaard Madeira trip report

Thu, 01 May 2008 11:11:14 +0100

Reports of this boom of migrant birds are arriving to Madeira Wind Birds. Here are the interesting vagrant species seen by Erik & Marianne Mølgaard (Denmark):

On April 26th
In Prazeres, Calheta
2 Bee-eater
Golden Oriole - 1 Male
Whinchat - 1 female

On April 27th
Paul da Serra - Ribeira da Janela
15 Bee-eater
Green-wingged teal

In Prazeres, Calheta
2 Red-rumped Swallow
Spotted Flycatcher
Pied Flycatcher
Montagu´s Harrier - 1 female

Thank you for giving us this precious information!

Vagrant birds boom in Madeira

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:16:00 +0100

Eastern winds and heat brought several vagrants to Madeira Island. During last few days (from the 25th to the 28th of April) very warm temperatures and strong winds from North Africa were felt in Madeira. On Madeira Wind Birds tours several vagrant birds and other interesting sightings were recorded:

Thursday 24th April 2008
In Ponta do Pargo
Yellow wagtail Motacilla flava iberiae

Observations by Hugo Romano and Madeira Wind Birds customers (UK)

Saturday 26th April 2008
In Caniçal
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus
Bee-eater Merops apiaster
House Martins Delichon urbica
Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica
Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus

Observations by Hugo Romano and Madeira Wind Birds customers (UK)

At sea, in Funchal
House Martin - near the coast
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
Several Cory Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea
7 Manx Shearwaters Puffinus puffinus
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii

Observations by Catarina Fagundes and Madeira Wind Birds customers (UK)

Sunday 27th April 2008
In Pico do Areeiro
Barn Swallows
House Martins
Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo daurica

Observations by Hugo Romano and Madeira Wind Birds customers (UK)

In Seixal
Melanistic Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla
7 Trocaz Pigeons Columba trocaz
Willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
Wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix
Western Bonelli's warbler Phylloscopus bonelli - Not a certain record as it was only seen at a glance...

Observations by Hadoram Shirihai (Israel), Catarina Fagundes and Tania Pestana (Madeira Wind Birds)

On Saturday and Sunday Martins and Swallow were recorded everywhere in the Island.

More news and pictures will come with the trip report of Hadoram Shirihai on his trip to photograph Zino's Petrel with Madeira Wind Birds... Pay attention!

New waders visiting Madeira Island

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:01:45 +0100

Find differences between Greenshank and Marsh Sandpiper

On April 15th, in Lugar de Baixo pond several waders were seen by Madeira Wind Birds:
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
Greenshank Tringa nebularia
Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis - 1st record for Madeira?
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
Sanderling Calidris alba
Little Stint Calidris minuta
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Also around were 2 Little Egrets and 4 Common Terns.

Long-legged Buzzard enjoying Madeira Nature

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:29:58 +0100

On the 3rd of April 2008 in Paul da Serra there was a Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus enjoying Madeira nature together with a Common Buzzard.

This is an exceptional vagrant to Madeira with only two records for this Island, one on 1987 and the other in 2004.

As for other migrant species present in Madeira, in Lugar de Baixo there are still the same waders since the beginning of winter except the Greater Scaup and in Ribeira da Janela Green-winged teal was protecting a nest with a female Mallard (records from the 29th of March 2008).

In Funchal one could still observe a Ring-billed Gull and a Sandwich tern on the 30th of March 2008.

Greater Blue-eared Glossy-Starling - 1st record for Madeira

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:05:45 +0000

On the 18th of March 2008 in Caniçal, Madeira Wind Birds guides (Catarina and Hugo) and their customers have seen a blue/green bird with bright yellow eyes... We could not identified it immediately as it was not on the European Bird Guide though after searching in other bird guides and with the help of pictures taken, it was possible to identify it as a Greater Blue-eared Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis chalybaeus.

This is the first record for Madeira of this Africa species and it was recorded after some weeks of eastern and north-eastern winds which might have blown this beautiful coloured bird to Madeira Island.

Other special species seen on this same day and on the same place was 2 Common Terns, 1 Waxbill, several Spanish Sparrows, few Barn Swallows and a House Martin. These were the first Common Terns for 2008 in Madeira.

Vagrant birds for Easter 2008 in Madeira

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:07:15 +0000

Several vagrant birds were seen in Madeira Island by Madeira Wind Birds on these last few days. Here are our special observations:

Thursday, 13th March 2008
Funchal Habour
1 Sandwich Tern
1 Little Egret

Caniçal
1 Alpine Swift
4 Barn Swallows

Friday, 14th March 2008
São Vicente
1 Common Sandpiper
2 Whimbrels

Ponta do Pargo
1 Black RedStart
4 Barn Swallows
1 Woodchat Shrike

Lugar de Baixo
1 Greenshank
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Dunlin
1 Curlew Sandpiper
1 Little Stint
1 Sanderling
1 Ringged Plover
1 Scaup

Saturday, 15th March 2008
Ribeira do Faial
1 Coot

Monday, 17th March 2008
Caniçal
4 Barn Swallows
1 Red-rumped Swallow
1 House Martin
1 Sand Martin
1 Black Kite
1 Booted Eagle

Machico
2 Little Egrets
About 7 Turnstones

The story of Matilde - a Madeiran-Storm Petrel

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:28:22 +0000

This is 'Matilde' a Madeiran-Storm Petrel chick which was found in the City Hall square in Porto Santo Island on the 29th of February 2008 by Manolo. Manolo is passionate by animals and as it was on the ground where someone could crash it easily, he took it home, fed it with fish and named it Matilde. When Manolo came to Madeira he brought Matilde with him and kept feeding it. Matilde was 45 grams and was ringed with ring number D 007336 on the 7th of March. On the 9th it was released on a beach at night with no lights nearby.

It seems Madeiran-Storm Petrel chicks from the winter breeding colony are just getting out of their nests! Just on the same week there was another chick found on a hotel in Funchal downtown and delivered to Dr Zino. This was 50 grams and was ringed with ring number D 007335. It was released on Friday, the 7th of March.

Both Madeiran-Storm Petrels flew well over the sea and now we just hope to hear something back from Matilde and its cousin!

Wintering Roseate Terns in Funchal

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:49:45 +0000

In early December Madeira Wind Birds reported a couple of adult Roseate Terns in Funchal harbour which have also been seen the year before, by the same month. Then, for a while only 1 Roseate Tern have been recorded in Madeira and now, on the 2nd of March 2008 the record is for a juvenile and an adult! Considering December 2007 and January 2008 were very warm in Madeira, more like Spring than Winter, we guess we can presume this juvenile was born already this year...

Tufted duck - 2nd record for Madeira

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:35:04 +0000

On the 21st and on the 22nd of February 2008 a female Tufted duck Aythya fuligula was seen in Fanal by Madeira Wind Birds and its customers. This is the second record for Madeira with the last one seen more than a hundred years ago, in 1906.

Still on the later day the following species were seen:
in Lugar de Baixo:
Greenshank
Little Stint
2 Curlew Sandpipers
2 Dunlins
Sanderling
Scaup
2 Little Egrets
2 Snipes
Seawatching from Lugar de Baixo 4 Macaroneasian Shearwaters Puffinus baroli were scoped.

Ribeira da Janela
Green-winged teal - male
Common teal - male

On the 26th of February 2008, on Caniçal:
Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis was wondering around a river bed.
7 Spanish Sparrows Passer hispaniolensis
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto

Swallows and Martins in Madeira

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:53:55 +0000

Swallows and Martins were this week's visitants to Madeira nature! Here are these birds sightings:

13th February 2008

Ponta do Pargo
7 Barn swallow Hirundo rustica

15th February 2008

Caniçal
4 Red-rumped Swallows Hirundo/ Cecropis daurica
1 Sand Martin Riparia riparia
5 Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica

Birdwatching latest news for Madeira

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 23:49:35 +0000

February is still at the beginning and it is being marked by the strong winds blowing from Southeast. These winds not only bring warm temperatures from North Africa but also blow some vagrant birds out of their routes. On these last days, Madeira nature has recorded several species of vagrant birds:

6th February 2008

Ponta do Pargo
3 Stonechat Saxicola rubicola - 2 males and 1 female
7 Barn swallow Hirundo rustica

Ribeira da Janela
Common teal Annas crecca - male
Green-winged teal Annas carolinensis - male

8th February 2008

Caniçal
1 Collared dove Streptopelia decaocto
4 Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
6 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
4 Red-rumped swallow Cecropis/Hirundo daurica
Quails were heard

Machico
2 Little Egrets Egretta garzetta
1 Common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Lugar de Baixo
2 Dunlins
2 Curlew sandpipers
1 Sanderling
1 Greenshank
1 Little Stint
1 Scaup
More than 40 Turnstones
More than 20 Coots
6 Little Shearwaters flying on the sea

9th February 2008

Funchal port
1 Sandwich tern
1 Mediterranean Gull
More than 12 Black-headed Gulls

Lido
Roseate Tern - observed by Risto Saranto

Caniçal - observations by Risto Saranto
1 Sand Martin Riparia riparia
Around 40 Barn Swallows