This time the ocean conditions did not help with the number of birds or bird species... It was a strange pelagic expedition with much less numbers of Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii and Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis but also small numbers of species seen. We even only got 1 Yellow-legged gull on the chum during the 3 afternoons!

28th July 2023 - we started with 9 knots of north wind which decreased to 4 knots and 0.5 meter waves from NNE
3 Desertas / Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 1 on the way to the chumming position
Common tern Sterna hirundo
Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis

It was another successful pelagic expedition but considering the good wind and rough ocean one would expect a few more Pterodromas and Oceanodromas to fly along with thousands of Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii and dozens of Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis...

22nd July 2023 - 15 knots of North wind and 1 meter waves from same direction
Common tern Sterna hirundo - on the way to the chumming position
Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus - on the way up
2 Madeiran storm petrel Oceanodroma castro
Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus

Another great pelagic went by and this time we got the 3 highlight species of these expeditions: Zino's Petrel, Madeiran storm petrel and White-faced Storm petrel plus the Red-billed Tropicbird ! Hat trick! Of course, Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were the default species everyday! ;)

17th July 2023 - Wind from the Northeast up to 14 knots and waves from same direction up to 1.5 meters
9 Desertas / Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta
White-faced Storm petrel Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca
Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus
3 Pterodroma sp. - while in transit for the chumming position
3 Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira
2 Common tern Sterna hirundo

Another great pelagic expedition with very good numbers of Pterodromas! As normal, Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were watched everyday.

11th July 2023 - East-northeast wind up to 12 knots, 1.7 meters swell from Northeast and 0.5 meter wave from ENE
11 Desertas / Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 3 on the way up
2 Pterodroma sp.
2 Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus
4 Common tern Sterna hirundo - 3 on the way back
2 Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira

Due to a malfunctioning in one of the engines we were not able to run the 2nd day of this pelagic expeditions but we had great views of both Pterodroma madeira and Pterodroma deserta! As usual, Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii and Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis were always watched along the afternoons. Unfortunately we missed Madeiran storm petrel Oceanodroma castro!

4th July 2023 - 8 to 11 knots of NE wind, swell from same direction up to 1.2 meters
a dozen of Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus
3 Desertas / Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 2 on the way up
5 Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira - 1 just as we stopped the boat to chum and 2 on the way back
6 Common tern Sterna hirundo - 4 on the way up
4 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
2 Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus

While in land most seaside villages were celebrating the Saint Peter's feast, in the ocean we had a great feast with seabirds, beating the record number of Procellariiformes seen in 1 day and also in a pelagic expedition! The ocean was rough and the wind kept increasing each day but that is what the seabirds most like! As usual, Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were present everyday.

28th June 2023 - Northeast wind up started with 12 knots and went up to 16 knots and waves from same direction up to 1.5 meters
3 Desertas / Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 2 on the way up, flew around the boat quite close
Pterodroma sp. - on the way up, too far to ID
Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus
3 Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus
Sooty shearwater Puffinus griseus
2 Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
Great shearwater Puffinus gravis
8 Madeiran storm petrel Oceanodroma castro
2 White-faced Storm petrel Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca
Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus