Birds act like Spring is already here but regarding temperatures and general weather it is still winter in Madeira. In April due to the snow in the first weeks and then strong winds and heavy rains into the end of the month we were unable to run a Zino’s Night Expedition (hey, safety above all!) but on the 3rd of May we finally made it and, despite the still strong and very cold wind up in the mountains we were able to hear more than 500 calls and see more than 14 silhouettes of this rare endemism of Madeira: Zino's Petrel! Now lets see which species May will bring to Madeira, with special interest in the pelagic birds as Wind Birds' Zino's Petrel Pelagic Expedition are just about to start!
23rd May 2016 off Machico
Great Skua Stercorarius skua
At Tanque Pond, Porto Santo
2 Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Western Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
6 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
2 Common House Martin Delichon urbicum
April started colder this year although while birdwatching one can already spot Spring behaviours in wildlife... A pair of Common Moorhen in Machico already has 4 chicks and Atlantic Canaries were observed carrying nesting material... Now we need some Eastern winds to blow some vagrant bird species into the island.
27th April 2016 at Ponta do Pargo
Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
3 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
At Lugar de Baixo
2 Dunlin Calidris alpina
Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
On the 17th of March 2016 Wind Birds run a pelagic day with a few participants on the 30th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society. We knew it was too early for Petrels so the aim was to try to see Madeiran storm petrel, White-faced storm petrel and research which seabird and cetacean species would be around by this time of the year. The wind conditions did not help, it was a very light breeze (less than 6 knots) from South, which is a quite rare direction in Madeira... So the observations during this 7 hour pelagic with 3 hours of chum were:
March is that month when birds' songs and their flight displays start to fill the air... Going out for birdwatching might end up with a rare vagrant bird that was blown out of its migration route and found by this little bit of land surrounded by ocean!
31st March at Ribeira Brava
2 Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica
5 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
8 Common House Martin Delichon urbicum
5 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
At Lugar de Baixo
Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
2 Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
After one of the warmest Januaries on the last 80 years, February started wet and cold in Madeira... Not the best weather to go out birdwatching though some interesting species might still be found out there!
28th of February 2016 at Machico - observations by Svante & Elisabeth Söderholm (SWE)
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
Dunlin Calidris alpina alpina
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
23 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
At Funchal
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus - 2nd winter.
27th of February 2016 at Ponta de São Lourenço
> 5 Little Egret Egretta garzetta
3 Western Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
Happy New Year to all Madeira Birds followers!
January has started with warm weather, with temperatures up to 23ºC so lets see if we get any migrating bird species diverting their way to this temperate climate...