This month, more exactly on the 11th February 2012 it made 5 years since the Green-wingged teal was first recorded in Ribeira da Janela and this american bird is still in the same place, together with Muscovy ducks and a few Mallards... Other interesting observations of this month are as followed:

January has almost been a summer month in Madeira this year and we believe that will be one of the reasons for some of the vagrant birds to stay around for a while. As it has not been raining the rivers are still with not much water and so the bottom and the vegetation in the river beds are still providing a good food source for our visitant waders. During January these were the most interesting bird records in Madeira:

Last week of January at Paul da Serra - observed by Elin Taranger (NOR)
Barbary Falcon Falco pelegrinoides

On the last month of 2011 Madeira received several vagrant birds from which a big group of Glossy Ibis, a rare vagrant to this archipelago and the numbers seen are not common at all... Below are the most interesting bird records in Madeira:

27th December 2011 at Caniçal
Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus - presumably the same seen on the 10th November 2011 which was the 1st confirmed record for Madeira

22nd December 2011 at Funchal marina
Yellow-crowned Night Heron Nyctanassa violacea - observed at 7:30 am by Bruce Hansen from Norway.

November was good for migrating birds to stop by Madeira Island. Some European species and an American one made our birdwatching month with the 1st confirmed record of Hen Harrier for the archipelago:

The Madeira bird news of October include some rare vagrants and some more common while the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, on the 2nd of October 2011, was still around Funchal marina but now with its best plumage!