What a start for a Zino's Petrel Pelagic Expedition! We saw all the aimed species in a single day, even White-faced Storm Petrel which has been scarce in the last 4 years! The 2nd day was completely the opposite but then the 3rd day was again a really good one! As usual, Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were our companions during the 3 days.

24th July 2022 - 14 knots wind and 1 meter waves both from the northeast
3 Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 2 on the way to the chumming position
3 Pterodroma sp.
Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira
4 Madeiran Storm Petrel Oceanodroma castro
White-faced Storm Petrel Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus graellsii

This was the roughest pelagic so far. It started with quite tolerable wind and sea conditions but got worst as the days went by... But, what is not so comfortable for us is great for the seabirds and we did get a good show of Pterodromas and, of course, the always present Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii.

21st July 2022 - 14 to 18 knots knots of Northeast wind, NE swell up to 2 meters and 0.5 meter wind waves
4 Pterodroma sp. - 3 on the way to the chumming position
14 Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 5 on the way up and 3 were at the same time on the chum slick for a couple of minutes
2 Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus
Great shearwater Puffinus gravis - flew by on a feeding frenzy and was only seen by a couple of people
4 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis

Short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis
Bryde’s whale Balaenoptera edeni
Short-finned pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus

After loosing a couple of customers due to strong winds at the airport that diverted the airplanes and consequently cancelled the flights to Madeira, the next days were with very light winds. The 3 pelagic evenings had no more than 10 knots of wind which normally is not enough to attract storm-petrels to the chum but somehow they showed up and made this another great Zino's Petrel Pelagic Expedition! Flocks of Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis sitting on the water and some Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii flying were watched everyday.

15th July 2022 - It started with 10 knots of NNW wind dropping to 3 knots and 1 meter waves from north
3 Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 1 on the way to the chumming position
Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira
Common tern Sterna hirundo
3 Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus graellsii
16 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis

Bottlenose dolphinsTursiops truncatus
Baleen whale Balaenoptera sp. - a glimpse of a dive
Short-finned pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus

Despite having the right sea and wind conditions for storm-petrels, which makes it a bit uncomfortable for the birdwatchers, this time we only had 1 European Storm Petrel... But there was a Scopoli's shearwater on the 3rd day which flew by the chum between the Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii which were watched every hour.

7th July 2022 - NE wind between 9 and 12 knots. 1 meter waves from the same direction
4 Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 2 on the way up
Pterodroma sp.
European Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus
Scopoli's shearwater Calonectris diomedea
2 Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus graellsii
9 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis

Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus
Blue shark Prionace glauca

July, as a summer month, is not the best period for vagrant birds but as climate change is being felt everywhere, lets see which bird species are blown into Madeira archipelago...

21st of July 2022 at Caniçal
Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops

2nd of July 2022 at Porto Santo - photographed by Geoff (UK)
Laughing dove Spilopelia senegalensis

The ocean was not soft on us during these 3 afternoons but those are the conditions most Procellariiformes enjoy! And we had great views of all the seabirds described below, plus hundreds of Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii and dozens of Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis everyday.

28th June 2022 - 12 knots of NE winds with 1.5 meters waves from the same direction
Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus - just outside Machico
3 Pterodroma sp. - 2 on the way up
3 Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta
2 Madeiran storm petrel Oceanodroma castro
Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus
Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus
Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
7 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis