Max Berlijn was seawatching on the 24th August 2009 between 17.30 and 19.40 at Porto Moniz and kindly sent his sightings:
Great Shearwater - 147 all to the west, some very close by (even the leg colour visible) in waves with little flocks
Arctic Skua - 2 west (pale birds)
Long-tailed Skua - 3 adults all summer plumage, one with tail streamers
Manx Shearwater - 14 all west
Bulwer's Petrel - 2 east.
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