Madeira common visitants are already returning to its favorite wintering destination. Here are the latest records:

13th August 2009 at Lugar de Baixo:
2 Turnstones
1 Black-headed Gull
8 Coots
1 Little Egret
Seawatching from there was a flock of about 50 Manx Shearwaters

14th August 2009 at Machico:
1 Ringed Plover
1 Little Egret

Zino’s Petrel Pterodroma madeira, off Madeira, April 2009 (photo Hadoram Shirihai © The Tubenose project). The first-ever unequivocal and photographically documented at-sea record of the species

Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus seen in Madeira, 5 miles offshore South of Funchal on the 3rd of August 2009 by Frank Zino. Later on the 7th seen 7 miles offshore South of Funchal by Luis Portugal. In between there is a possible record in the shore of two, though due to heat haze not possible confirmation.

There are only four previous records of this species in Madeira.

Other vagrants seen this week include:

7th August 2009 at Poiso
Alpine swift - observed by David Fox

THE FIRST-EVER UNEQUIVOCAL AND PHOTOGRAPHICALLY DOCUMENTED AT-SEA RECORDS OF THE ZINO'S PETREL

The report of The Zino’s Petrel at sea expedition II - the best-ever pelagic in the Western Palearctic

Expedition diary by Hadoram Shirihai

29th July 2009 at Caniçal
1 Curlew

20th July 2009 at Ponta do Pargo
1 Peregrine Falcon
1 Long-legged Buzzard
15 Hammer-head sharks seen from the lighthouse

18th July 2009 at Machico
Squacco Heron - observed by Andrew Jayne, Martin McGill, Jeremy Squire, Chris Stone