Temperature just dropped as November started but the sun is shining! November is normally good for some vagrant ducks but Madeira is always a surprise box, we never know which vagrant bird species we will find when we go out birdwatching...

20th of November 2015 at Faial
3 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Little Egret Egretta garzetta

19th of November 2015 at Caniçal
Sardinian Warbler Sylvia melanocephala
Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
> 12 Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis

October tends to be a good month for vagrant birds in Madeira and it is also the month of the BirdLife Europe’s annual Euro Birdwatch, so lets see which migrating birds are blown into Madeira archipelago:

28th of October 2015 at Ponta do Pargo
Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus
>35 Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis
Whinchat Saxicola rubetra
2 Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe oenanthe
3 Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
2 European Stonechat Saxicola rubicola

At Porto Moniz
European Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca
Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata

At São Vicente
White Wagtail Motacilla alba alba

At Lugar de Baixo
Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

September started with very light winds which does not push many birds into this piece of land in the North Atlantic... Even seabirds' migration is a bit slow... Lets see what the rest of the month will bring us:

27th of September 2015 at Caniçal
Dunlin Calidris alpina alpina
5 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres

26th of September 2015 at Lido area, Funchal
Northern Gannet Morus bassanus - juvenile

At Faial
3 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Jonathan & Elaine Lamplough, from UK, kindly sent us their seawatching observations from Porto Moniz, during the first 2 weeks of September

Between the 2nd and the 9th of September 2015, in about 14 hours of seawatching:
About 200 Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus
2 (Arctic Skua) Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus
1 Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii

What an ending to 2015 Zino’s Petrel Pelagic Expedition! Despite the light wind which made us postpone the last day we saw it all and very well!
As usual Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were always there.

Another Zino's Petrel pelagic expedition marked by the light wind though this time we managed to see some interesting seabird species on their migration and we only missed the Madeiran Storm Petrel.