After three years of trying, Dave Provencher and I finally made it to Madeira in search of Zino's Petrel. The pandemic had postponed our 2020 and 2021 bookings, but we were not denied this time around. We spent about 5 days on the island, three afternoons of which were at sea. The rest of the time was spent casually exploring from sea level to 6,000+ ft peaks. We connected reasonably easily with the island's few endemic species and subspecies, plus a few other target birds.
Madeira is a small island whose jagged peaks jut out of the ocean like the tip of an iceberg. Information about the island is readily available online, so I will spare the repetition here. Though I will add one thing that surprised me...Madeira is very affordable. Cheap, even. At least once you get there. Flights seemed to run $650-800 return from the northeast US, but once on-island, our stay did not set us back much. The rental car cost $215 for the duration, our downtown Machico hotel room was $55/night, and dining ran cheaper than back home. Our getaway was brief, and there was more island to explore for sure, but I do recommend Madeira as a destination if you like yourself some rare Pterodromas.
*Click on thumbnails below for high resolution.
The stars of the show...ZINO'S PETREL. We encountered at least 7 individuals over our three afternoons at sea.
The closely related "Desertas" FEA'S PETREL breeds on adjacent Bugio of the Desertas chain. We definitively saw only one of these:
Outside of the Pterodromas, the BULWER'S PETRELS were the most entertaining seabird out there. Very common, there always seemed to be several of these in view:
Another specialty of these waters is the "Madeiran" form of BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL. They are scarce, but we did have prolonged views of one feeding in our chum slick:
Unexpected for this time of year was a single GREAT SHEARWATER:
The most abundant seabird out there was CORY'S SHEARWATER, all of which seen well enough to scrutinize were clearly of the Atlantic-breeding population borealis, as told by the essential lack of white bleeding into the under-primaries.
While commuting to sea one afternoon we came across a group of 4 SPERM WHALES that seemed to be spy-hopping when we first came across them:
The stark beauty of the island cannot be overstated, and we enjoyed the scenery both from land and sea. Several landbird species were also worth seeing.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-20fFa76N-lnV2NSbVGddIQuphc6gPXjTlW80lYtDdqej_V9ft5j42ObvCqCdGVIXDACZ4uUZqIHGcL_tiy3QOOyWMvHprkq7LW9o7J6JYdASHDkaEY_RAGiw9hVsLemKJrr529XU5hbt7x_jb0FzSqJ1XBpKM4jDAYu0jZd87EOZACjC8sYsLxOgA/w400-h243/_P1A6052-2.jpg) |
Bugio |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8QADwfL4weUkSK1VvBGty15YEEcCelwTtdSfErAoDRj2-gXELgTYl0XP1gjsiQe2X46bpi7Fp0zFKbQorQzmec2swgtXjb0pAO4mgnwW5tFLmPycP6bRyIrN5u78Y0H-Q5bROkaDzlgSLrq7L-fg1XL5nHy6QI0ivdOF3ioeroY2IyBJKms1BVFm1w/w400-h268/_P1A6053.jpg) |
Madeira |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhiLc8Ezcfaltk33oJL6UdfuQa3olZ36I2SqYvNzGldWAIxRxE0wsV2LCc2qAOLeZ62w8uNBvtU8rVrhOHrM7sqdCz2anObVWbC1vhybuF9XFRJ5tnLCz5s7QKA8eJ1IORxozpdD-ZyOGkeOXxS4LYRniIml9IzBqPk4wTgF6MxHI29DjhzGztGEItzA/w400-h251/_P1A3829-2.jpg) |
Madeira |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_gLsvciWK_sinZZb94lQgIlz5G8M4ssRx2sufYM2StAIwD0AM5pAMFZ1_iG7qQ6-l1fqO-d8_a773r3ThvynpU7Yil4tD34l6lEkxZ9Q3MpAqeqSTRO9dip-Cgo3WA8IwZ919D46cuyouHoUMV7Jb3x91t0ZM_A_A1EGP9nZQQvwwiUohDNp974pkog/w400-h266/_P1A6083-Edit-Recovered.jpg) |
Berthelot's Pipit |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzIjaKY96-dbYyjW1Pr6dvZPhLSPnmpWI4CUI1KgKy6R2lvSBeJ7-5gVZ6iubhkuRgYidz0a7NUD77mmpEIQX9FMw45sFfC3lPJV4qpDAuj_aXsEIvypGv6ipAmbdwK1_nf5CG5KmRompTbeCPZyeYN0Swlafya2eWwbTdN35EfVgeJrrrQhqR1ZfpA/w400-h266/_P1A6253-Edit.jpg) |
Spectacled Warbler |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAp7Aoeptv1Wy7Nq5JhOwqZ7mpQKnp2xz3CamVcj-sdHY2PNNr3WBUzojN83-P0De-33UPOwvcGq5Bo9UV9VTYHDF4g1trQbftsxhUKznBIfb9vn_QB1V5FVLGXUT3Wx98wzifhnMIviFbTOcJRp41I_Gydqr4kBsQUkPKNgFoMtGttaDe45UXSFRC4A/w400-h268/_P1A4337-Edit.jpg) |
Trocaz Pigeon (endemic) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLN0xiX_88CDU6II8DpEKyoxDgdjYvuVQaRXgvl1xBpMnY-GElQsBoWTm1_VXQU46N7nEeRiz30QFm6zJE1it2TRcrVvtzh-FWO7gV2SxAQhQdWym7DPeQdK_I1uTqRdQWTMr0gszWlulFghHPkRrseTB7wu1j7pP9vkNwNT9_5jPabANG3Ucbzuov8A/w400-h266/_P1A4384ps.jpg) |
"Madeiran" Common Chaffinch |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUTtMq1P-XffesoK-oNjn4Elie9F6Dymc2mo44Xxmg-nRPWe7br46pmfKPWZqIjl9RA7JqYKw_OO9q4YE5kRLFea_t2ETq53bBijxBCVrKjMVIBgj96V_z6HDuCQ-jKB0PXbqdCVh5nF9LvxD4dZ6aefJwyk1ceYN0yU8dGqDd987LaZgGmD10bkq5Q/w400-h266/_P1A4475-Edit-2.jpg) |
Madeira Firecrest (endemic) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiabApP3ngdn2IfpGVPEPkKv8qLqHAgWRDGvwCn5fWrpFtcyyIZvxoqQjKJEJlv2Zrs50T3gFX9BwhPIudZuJedr7wdF5JiUlNPGQVwyYc8RLENTV1EUWHgYbYSc8EDCFgMUY2XU0Ii2gFH0oux97AskqovKI2okdqPKIEFcjIiggbTDgAFN7WVK3usBw/w400-h268/_P1A7433-Edit.jpg) |
Plain Swift |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfLAGKO0wCNNz9eCDlVPRi9yee7U-Q-hFs7Pd0VxB-ddS4UetwhyFEhBFP0HnTSYwkR7tx2NT5QtmDjk7GQMUFhX6cbKnZo3FYppqeYaO5PGqZkDi3oksnrL2WwrSjbpUfQX7-QXZ_PgM0bW1apELfJgZa02kKYr-avf3d3XYgUuC03Do6Sfzr1H7mcQ/w400-h225/9P1A7885.jpg) |
Pico do Arieiro |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OmnZHUdh1L4OjFKnLWc_1lWa5wmz5-tdSO7FjreNhIucXWIRvAZFo8qd1BzcBsJ5GzJ2mL18ieMSrMgDO9GrV3EHapw0hRRuWbPlCWA1frQk_L5spWMotMTO-DUBB-kKsEUi8SAXg2v9b71U8VQuRirHc5wWvE1K4ShlJyV7uarM1S543B6XU8gJ_w/w400-h184/IMG_6863a.jpg) |
Madeira |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH4S3bw1XrMVevMyUBbCzFUc6nhOo88BS5--iWLLNaqHW_9KZzG8ePVcSgh3GmE7w0iMMM-NYb7_boqOGxEiYzsZruPjCnK-mVsgWaiTbLJqUQW-BqCi31DZzmJ4ePSMrNYVQN29sUQQb3Cd4xU5lk1PFsrqbZ-VEcUatsPTpCdwmU4N2vJEemtkKQwQ/w400-h300/IMG_6886a.jpg) |
Our vessel, captained by Catarina and Hugo |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlQOy6gwtk3EC4iB6b8Hv-4OkTWM2x0g1WHqlxnixeuMijXZ7HRN_2ge0X5EYWyfVA0UpPh_t9KbgBkA3eTMk8pqmvx-T0Hnp-HZJ5hOSjSJ4UxTYpYU5c2NWM9TyGmBCch8bqtuHLYMa7CYG5b8ukC4wdA5qyexm4tkXrT6JpylQlmBe4XqSzhxwMA/w400-h259/IMG_6889a.jpg) |
Madeira |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kXBN6pxTRHGduGSYT5fzYIwHuHlz_3dpJpUkqaTeD0RVymYwZ7L6OesU-2ZylCaBXTlNIjdwa3CL16peH0vhYsaC4p9U4bz_ONdBLw4Jlq2a0_HLKg71f5DWOCLiQBgZxng_crURWoBSSg5Aj9ZCNIxJOVkVUFLNxMdCxQl6lvoyZB45amU6wQkpNQ/w400-h300/IMG_6900a.jpg) |
looking back west from Ponta de Sao Lourenco |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lf0Fgncqi-iN-LpHPPaGKVdM7uJBPNueOCTQnD_u8x_hxdxuyUpaPKlSKQ4t2TsipaFsLIiY7PsWvY4Qcx4wiw0ATopMwdyEyv8V8rJ0JR7xvWjTDB3ubC_nCK0C2yf8aHGxMQOwcLP3yu0p-kZEukYG8JulWrN9HCwYkLp_5998cDleU95N0nfrow/w400-h245/IMG_6917a.jpg) |
breaking above the clouds at 5500 feet |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5vQJOSMkYyYTDKg86rnf7xNIgTR-s1jh1-QqJaPXAxJkxi2bwolYiiCog-oZrMpGJM_QOAtqAbmqdk1XYt2ah4YIkRloYSXaU6GsBeGRsH165uuGEuFiFCkYrcEhhrIcukaVIVPHQYJEw_yDhEqk44yFhs9ntkqLN4rd939vpmyMb1_r43SAO2yfZA/w400-h300/IMG_6921a.jpg) |
Pico do Arieiro |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAur8LAYxM9kf1D3zrcyc3hY0ak7l40e7rZCuKPZNCZu4Jq-dH7v1mHWkIyDTgzNTqHG_dsGzb6iW7622AM-hq49_lpmUfvTSiFh7R1kxUqg-auBvwFrWDg8DGXQyjN-R_DlQ4EKAvxsliP-Y4bZPBR5Kv3XN6G7pyW23KyXd6-Vb_ZxQZ3KBqgBY5yA/w400-h219/Stacked-final%20small.jpg) |
The Milky Way from 6000 feet |
- Nick
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