Brown Booby seen twice on pelagic trips off Madeira

Another trip report of a fantastic Zino's petrel pelagic expedition which took place on the 5th, 6th and 7th August 2010. Participants of this trip were: Alan Wilkinson, Lee Gregory, Steve & Liz Dudley (UK) and Martin Gottschling and Oliver Nüssen (GER).

Saturday, 7th August
2 Fea's petrel Pterodroma feae on the way and 3 on the chum
1 Brown booby Sula leucogaster
Some Cory's sheawaters Calonectris diomedea borealis
Many Bulwer's petrels Bulweria bulwerii
1 Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus
1 Yellow-legged gull Larus michaellis
1 Common tern Sterna hirundo
1 White-faced storm-petrel Pelagodroma marina


Friday, 6th August 2010
1 Turnstone Arenaria interpres - just outside the marina
1 Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus
Cory's shearwaters Calonectris diomedea borealis
Bulwer's petrels Bulweria bulwerii
4 Zino's/Fea's petrels on the way to the chumming position
1 Zino's petrel Pterodroma madeiraflew by the chum
1 Probable Zino's petrel flew by the chum
1 Fea's petrel Pterodroma feae flew by
1 Zino's/Fea's petrel flew by
1 Madeiran Storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro
1 White-faced Storm-petrel Pelagodroma marina
1 Long-tailed skua Stercorarius longicaudus
1 Great skua Stercorarius skua on the way back

Short-finned Pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus


Thursday, 5th August 2010
1 Great skua Stercorarius skua
Big flock of Whimbrels or Godwits heading south, far away
1 Grey phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius
1 Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus
Cory's shearwaters Calonectris diomedea borealis
Bulwer's petrels Bulweria bulwerii
1 Zino's/Fea's petrel on the way
1 Fea's petrel Petrodroma feae on the chum for 4 minutes
1 Artic tern Sterna paradisaea
2 Wilson's storm-petrels Oceanites oceanicus
1 White-faced storm-petrel Pelagodroma marina
1 Madeiran storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro
2 Zino's petrel Pterodroma madeira on the way back

Flying fish
Loggerhead turtle Careta careta
Beaked whale jumping a bit far away

Meantime, while these birders were in land, on the 3rd August 2010 in Prazeres Lee have seen 1 adult male, pale morph Eleonora's Falcon Falco eleonorae and 2 Alpine swifts Apus melba while Martin & Oliver observed another Eleonora's Falcon in the same village. At first they thought it was the same bird but then they compared pictures and descriptions and realized it was 2 different birds.