It's that time of year again when summer is ending and the birds start their winter migration... So let's see which bird species will be blown off their course into Madeira:
12th of September 2025 at Caniçal harbour
2 Dunlin Calidris alpina alpina
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
13 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
9th of September 2025 at Porto Moniz - observed by Michel (NED)
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
8th of September 2025 at Porto Moniz - photographed by Michel (NED)
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
4th of September 2025 off Porto Moniz - reported by Michel (NED)
1064 Great shearwater Puffinus gravis - all heading westwards
What a successful conclusion of our pelagic birding season! On our final outing, we hit the perfect time and location to witness a spectacular migration of Skuas. After deploying our chum, birds seemed to fall from the sky, creating an incredible spectacle.It was a challenge to count and identify all the birds on the chum slick simultaneously, but it was an unforgettable show of Skuas, along with four Desertas Petrels! As always, Bulwer's Petrels Bulweria bulwerii and Cory's Shearwaters Calonectris borealis were consistently present throughout the afternoons.
27th August 2025 - North wind up to 14 knots. 3 meter waves from NNW
23 Desertas/Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 2 on the way up and 4 at the same time on the chum
10 Great shearwater Puffinus gravis
6 Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus
11 Common tern Sterna hirundo
5 Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea
Pomarine skua Stercorarius pomarinus
4 Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus
Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira
Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
August, despite being a summer month, sometimes brings interesting bird species to Madeira as some birds begin their migration. We were excited that a White-rumped Sandpiper was spotted by the last day of July, and we're looking forward to seeing what new arrivals the winds might bring our way this month.
31st of August 2025 at Caniçal
Sanderling Calidris alba
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
4 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
29th of August 2025 at Lazareto
14 Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Off Porto Moniz - observed by Michel (NED)
13 Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
28th of August 2025 at Machico
Ruff Philomachus pugnax
24th of August 2025 at Caniçal
Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus
By mid-August we were expecting some more seabird species passing by on their migration but we still got a Long-tailed Jaeger and a few Arctic tern. As per usual, Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were watched all three afternoons.
21st August 2025 - NE wind between 12 and 14 knots and 1.5 to 2 meters swell from same direction
7 Desertas/Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - 1 on the way up
4 Pterodroma sp. - 2 on the way up
15 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus phaeopus flying south
Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus
Atlantic spotted dolphin
20th August 2025 - 8 knots of NE wind and 1.5 meter swell from same direction
Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
4 Wilson’s storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus
3 Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira
White-faced storm petrel Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca
>20 (presumed) whimbrels on the way back
It was an unusual pelagic trip in terms of both the number of birds and the species we observed. Interestingly, we even missed the Yellow-legged Gull in the chum on two out of the three days. Typically, at this time of year, Madeiran Storm Petrel is the most challenging to spot, but this expedition proved to be different. Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were the entertaining birds during the three afternoons.
17th July 2025 - 1st chumming spot: N wind up to 17knots. 2nd chumming spot: NNW wind between 5 and 7 knots. NE waves up to 1 meter
8 Desertas/Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta - while chumming at the 1st spot
5 Pterodroma sp. - all on the way up
3 Common tern Sterna hirundo - 1 on the way up
Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus - on the way up, flying far
Possible Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira - by the size it looked P. madeira but it was too quick and wrong timming as we were renewing the chum
Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira - Only at 20:50 but finally we had a great observation!
July began with strong winds on the east side of Madeira, causing many flight cancellations and diversions. This unfortunately led to shortened or canceled holidays for some visitors, while others trying to depart Madeira were stranded for a few extra days.
Given these strong northern winds, we're curious to see if any unusual birds have been pushed to our Atlantic island. We'll keep you updated on any interesting sightings:
31st of July 2025 at Machico river - reported by Jörg (GER)
White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis - less than 5 records on the last 50 years!
12th of July 2025 at Machico
2 Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
7th of July 2025 off Porto Moniz - reported by Michel (NED)
Great Skua Stercorarius skua - flying southwards
6th of July 2025 at Machico
Black Kite Milvus migrans
1st of July 2025 at Porto Moniz - observed by Michel (NED)
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus