The pelagic started with great sightings of Skuas, 2 quick views of Zino's Petrels and then Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii and some Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis eclipsed all other species that we were expecting to observe...

10th of August 2026 NNE wind up to 6 knots. 1 meter NW swell and 0.3 meters N waves
Big group (>30) of what we believe were Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus phaeopus - flying south duirng our ride up to the chumming position
14 Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus
2 Desertas' petrel Pterodroma deserta
Pterodroma sp.
6 Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus
2 Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
2 Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira

Common Bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus

With such high temperatures all over the world wildlife will also suffer with it and might change its behaviour or routines... Let's see which species visit Madeira on this starting period of migration!

13th of August 2026 at Porto da Cruz - photographed by Richard (UK)
Hudsonian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus

11th of August 2026 at Porto da Cruz - observed by Manuel (SPA)
Hudsonian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus

4th of August 2026 at Machico
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

What a rich pelagic expedition in terms of seabird species and some cetaceans as well! We finally got to see Barolo's shearwater (1st confirmed observation this year!) and Madeiran Storm petrel (which we missed in the previous 5 pelagics)! As usual, Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii and Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis where our entertainers during the 3.5 hours of chumming and drifting.

30th of July 2026 - ENE wind between 6 and 8 knots. 1 meter swell from East and 0.5 meter wave from NE
Desertas' petrel Pterodroma deserta
6 Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
3 Common tern Sterna hirundo
Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira
Auduin’s gull Ichthyaetus audouinii - juvenile (less than 5 records in the last 50 years!)
Barolo’s Shearwater Puffinus baroli
Madeiran Storm Petrel Oceanodroma castro

Short-beaked Common dolphins Delphinus delphis

It has been a very quiet summer in terms of vagrant or accidental bird species in Madeira archipelago...

23rd of July 2026 at Santo da Serra Reservoir
Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
3 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

At Caniçal
5 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres

18th of July 2026 off Porto Moniz - sightings by Michel (NED)
23 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus phaeopus - flying west

Finally got some proof the storm petrels still exist around Madeira! The light wind from a very unusual quadrant (south) for summertime brought us a White-faced storm petrel but took away Zino's Petrel... Madeiran storm petrel is still being searched but not yet found... Despite this, we had good diversity of marine life, including a Red-billed Tropicbird! Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis, Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii and a few flying fish were watched in every trip.

14th of July 2026 - SW wind up to 7 knots and flat sea
Pterodroma sp. - on the way up
3 Common tern Sterna hirundo
2 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
White-faced storm petrel Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca
Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus
3 Desertas' petrel Pterodroma deserta

Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus

Madeira Archipelago offers good conditions to birdwatchers, not only in terms of breeding birds but also vagrant bird species. Though there are only 47 breeding species to these islands, about half of them are endemic species or subspecies to Madeira or to Macaronesia region (Madeira, Azores and Canary Islands).

Madeira has three endemic species: Trocaz Pigeon Columba trocaz which is associated with the native forest of Madeira: the Laurel Forest; Madeira Firecrest Regulus madeirensis, normally observed on forested areas and the rare Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira, a threatened seabird that nests on the highest mountains of Madeira. Regarding the Macaronesia bird species, one may observe Fea's/Desertas Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta, Madeiran Storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro, Atlantic Canary Serinus canaria, Berthelot's Pipit Anthus berthelotti and the Plain Swift Apus unicolor.

One interesting feature of birding in Madeira is the high number of endemic subspecies from which the ornithological highlights go to the bluish Madeiran Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs maderensis and the darker colours of Barn Owl Tyto alba schmitzi and Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea schmitzi.

However, seabirds are the major attraction for birdwatchers because there are several colonies of world importance. In Madeira archipelago one may find 8 breeding seabirds species namely the rare Pterodromas (P. feae and P. madeira), Barolo's Shearwater Puffinus baroli, Madeiran Storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro and White-faced Storm Petrel Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca. This last species being confined to breed in Selvagens Islands but observed offshore on Wind Birds' Pelagic Expeditions.

A pelagic trip on Madeira or seawatching from the coast gives you also the chance to observe some vagrant birds like Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis, Great Skua Stercorarius skua, Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus or European Storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus, between others;

Join one of Wind Birds tours and you will see not only Madeira birds but also amazing landscapes which are out of the common tourist routes!