It has been a very quiet summer in terms of vagrant or accidental bird species in Madeira archipelago...

10th of July 2026 off Porto Moniz - seawatched by Michel (NED)
Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus - a subadult bird flying west

10th of July 2026 at Porto Moniz - reported by Michel (NED)
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus - flying westwards

7th of July 2026 at Caniçal
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica

Another pelagic expedition with great views of Pterodromas but with no storm petrel at all! Even the numbers of Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii are not what it used to be! It was 3 great afternoons on the ocean but a bit disappointing when not a single storm petrel pass by...

9th of July 2026 - Shifting wind between N and W from 12 to 2 knots 1 meter short period swell from NW and 0.5 meter wave from N. It was great wind when we arrived then it disappeared and only return by the time we had to leave the chumming position.
3 Desertas' petrel Pterodroma deserta - 1 on the way up
4 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
7 Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
Common tern Sterna hirundo
Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus
Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira

Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Common Bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus

We do not know what is happening with Madeiran Storm Petrels but this is the second pelagic expedition they do not show... This time we had good wind and even a day with some stormy weather but no storm petrels at all! At least Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii and Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis are still a constant everyday though the number of Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus observed is decreasing as their breeding season in Madeira is ending soon.

26th of June 2026 - 8 knots of North wind and 0.5 meter waves from NE
21 Desertas' petrel Pterodroma deserta - 3 on the way up (2 of them sitting)
4 Pterodroma sp - 2 on the way up
6 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
4 Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus

Shortfin Mako shark Isurus oxyrinchus - fortunately it appeared by the end of the day, on our last drift, as it destroyed our chum bucket...

A very smooth pelagic expedition which turned out good for Pterodromas, for non local storm petrels and other marine vertebrates but not so much for the Madeira breeding storm petrel species... Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis and Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii were observed everyday.

20th of June 2026 - 6 knots SW wind. NE swell up to 0.5 meter
4 Desertas' petrel Pterodroma deserta - 1 on the way up
Pterodroma sp - on the way up
6 Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis
Lesser Black-backed gull Larus fuscus
Approx. 10 Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus
Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira
Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus
4 Common tern Sterna hirundo

Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis
2 Loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta

Summer is no longer a good period for migratory birds to be stopping by Madeira archipelago on their way "home" but there might some delayed ones...

16th of June 2026 at Santa Cruz
5 Common House Martin Delichon urbicum

At Ponta do Pargo - reported by Jaap (NED)
Eleonora's Falcon Falco eleonorae

15th of June 2026 at Santo da Serra reservoir
2 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

At Ponta de São Lourenço - observed by Jaap (NED)
Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus - female

Madeira Archipelago offers good conditions to birdwatchers, not only in terms of breeding birds but also vagrant bird species. Though there are only 47 breeding species to these islands, about half of them are endemic species or subspecies to Madeira or to Macaronesia region (Madeira, Azores and Canary Islands).

Madeira has three endemic species: Trocaz Pigeon Columba trocaz which is associated with the native forest of Madeira: the Laurel Forest; Madeira Firecrest Regulus madeirensis, normally observed on forested areas and the rare Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira, a threatened seabird that nests on the highest mountains of Madeira. Regarding the Macaronesia bird species, one may observe Fea's/Desertas Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta, Madeiran Storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro, Atlantic Canary Serinus canaria, Berthelot's Pipit Anthus berthelotti and the Plain Swift Apus unicolor.

One interesting feature of birding in Madeira is the high number of endemic subspecies from which the ornithological highlights go to the bluish Madeiran Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs maderensis and the darker colours of Barn Owl Tyto alba schmitzi and Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea schmitzi.

However, seabirds are the major attraction for birdwatchers because there are several colonies of world importance. In Madeira archipelago one may find 8 breeding seabirds species namely the rare Pterodromas (P. feae and P. madeira), Barolo's Shearwater Puffinus baroli, Madeiran Storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro and White-faced Storm Petrel Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca. This last species being confined to breed in Selvagens Islands but observed offshore on Wind Birds' Pelagic Expeditions.

A pelagic trip on Madeira or seawatching from the coast gives you also the chance to observe some vagrant birds like Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis, Great Skua Stercorarius skua, Wilson's Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus or European Storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus, between others;

Join one of Wind Birds tours and you will see not only Madeira birds but also amazing landscapes which are out of the common tourist routes!