1 Birdquest Detailed Tour Itinerary: The Azores, Madeira & The Canary Islands

THE AZORES, MADEIRA & THE CANARY ISLANDSMacaronesian Endemics, Seabirds & Cetaceans

Tour Duration: 12 daysGroup Size Limit: 9Tour Category: Easy

1419, by João Gonçalves Zarco, following on from the discovery of the smaller island of Porto Santo the previous year. Indeed, the two expeditions, which were sponsored by Portugal’s Prince Henry the Navigator, were key to the perception that it really was going to be possible to navigate far from sight of land and return safely, and that new lands and potential wealth awaited the bold explorer rather than a plunge into an abyss! They set the scene for the later discovery of the Americas and the first circumnavigation of the globe.

Madeira holds some fascinating landbirds, including the endemic Trocaz (or Long-toed) Pigeon and Madeiran Kinglet, and the Macaronesian-endemic Plain Swift and Berthelot’s Pipit, plus other island forms not yet treated as full species but likely candidates for the future. Even more exciting is Madeira’s wealth of seabirds. Europe’s most endangered species, the relatively recently split Zino’s (or Madeira) Petrel, nests in the remotest canyons on

Madeira, while other species breeding in the archipelago include the recently split Desertas Petrel, Bulwer’s Petrel, Cory’s and Little Shearwaters, and Madeiran (or Band-rumped) Storm-Petrel. During our time in Madeira we will spend some of our time exploring the spectacular verdant canyons of the main island and the remainder looking for a pelagic seabirds offshore.

Finally we will explore the Canary Islands. Said by the ancient Greeks to be the remnants of the lost kingdom of Atlantis, where paradise on earth could still be found, this sun-drenched group of islands is situated just north of the Tropic of Cancer not far from the coast of North Africa. The original inhabitants were the Guanches, a sturdy Cro-Magnon people with blue eyes and fair hair, and the islands derive their name from the Latin word for dog, canis, of which there were apparently many. Their wonderful climate has earned the Canary Islands their modern reputation as the ‘Garden of Europe’, a place where flowers and vegetables can be grown in the depths of the European winter. The volcanic origin of the islands is made evident by the presence of huge tracts of solidified lava, volcanic cones and extinct calderas, whilst steaming

fumaroles betray continuing activity in the bowels of the earth. The trade winds bring cloud and rain to the western islands, which are covered with lush, primeval laurel forests on their northern slopes, whilst the eastern islands are much drier and desert-like, with only scrubby vegetation.

The isolation of the Atlantic Islands has favoured the evolution of endemic forms, most derived from colonists from Europe, and the Canary Islands are renowned for the occurrence of no less than eight endemic bird species; Laurel Pigeon, Bolle’s Pigeon, Canary Islands (or Tenerife) Robin, Canary Islands (or Fuerteventura) Stonechat, Canary Islands Chiffchaff, Canary Islands Kinglet, Canary Islands Blue Tit and Blue Chaffinch. Not only do the Canaries have this superb selection of unique birds but they also harbour one of the healthiest surviving populations of Houbara Bustard as well as Barbary Falcon, Barbary Partridge, Cream-coloured Courser, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Lesser Short-toed Lark and Trumpeter Finch. Last but not least the islands offer visitors some good seabirding, with Little Shearwater being the prime attraction.

Birdquest has been operating tours to the islands since 1995.

The islands of the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries offer some superb scenery and a series of exciting avian endemics (the number steadily increasing through recent ‘splitting’) and other specialities, including some great seabirds.

First we will visit the far-flung Azores Islands in mid-Atlantic, an autonomous region of Portugal. The Azores are part of the Macaronesian faunal subregion that also includes Madeira, the Canaries and the Cape Verde Islands. Here, on the island of San Miguel, we will find the rare Azores Bullfinch, which is now recognized as a full species, plus the Macaronesian-endemic Atlantic Canary and several Azorean forms which are candidates for future splits, including Atlantis (or Azorean) Gull.

Next we will explore the island of Madeira and its satellite islands, which lie some 800 kilometres out into the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest of Portugal, of which they are another autonomous region. Madeira was only discovered in

Azores Bullfinch (Nik Borrow)

2 Birdquest Detailed Tour Itinerary: The Azores, Madeira & The Canary Islands

Itinerary

Day 1 The tour begins late this afternoon at Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel in the Azores, where we will be staying for two nights. Cory’s Shearwaters (here of the Atlantic form borealis, often now treated as a species distinct from nominate diomedea, referred to as Scopoli’s Shearwater if the two forms are split, that nests in the Mediterranean) nest on the headland just by the hotel and in the evening they can be seen flying in to visit their burrows over the hotel gardens, uttering their strange cries.

Day 2 São Miguel is the largest and most varied of the nine islands that make up the Azores, and the closest to Portugal, which lies 1400 kilometres to the east. The Azores are known as ‘The Garden Islands of the Atlantic’ and, like most mid-Atlantic islands, are volcanic in origin. The verdant island of São Miguel, which is dotted with the picturesque villages of this largely farming and fishing community, has some spectacular volcanic calderas with brightly coloured lakes, but it is the luxuriant vegetation which makes the biggest impression and not least the ubiquitous banks

of blue Hydrangeas. The highest peak is the 1103m (3619ft) Pico da Vara at the eastern end of the island, and it is this area that holds the remnants of the once-extensive native shrub forest of the island, a mosaic of tree heather, juniper and laurel. Here survives one of Europe’s most threatened birds, the Azores Bullfinch (or Priolo as it is called locally), now widely regarded as a full species. The remaining population numbers as few as 300 individuals, restricted to what is left of the native vegetation. We will of course be concentrating our efforts on this special bird, but other birds of particular interest on the island include the beautiful Roseate Tern, Atlantic Canary and the Azorean forms of the Common Buzzard, Common Wood Pigeon, Grey Wagtail, Common Blackbird, Goldcrest and Common Chaffinch, as well as the atlantis form of the Yellow-legged Gull (known as Atlantis or Azorean Gull), several of which are candidates for splitting. Other species we are likely to see on São Miguel include Common Tern, Rock Dove, European Robin, Blackcap, Common Starling, House Sparrow and

European Goldfinch.

Day 3 Today we will take a flight to Funchal on the island of Madeira for a four nights stay. We may arrive in time for a first opportunity to explore this beautiful and spectacular island.

Days 4-6 The island of Madeira well deserves its reputation as a beautiful, verdant, easy-going, subtropical hideaway far out into the Atlantic. Here everything seems to grow with a greater profusion than on the mainland and the riot of greenery and wildflowers adds to the feeling that one has reached an island especially favoured by nature. A wall of peaks loom high above Funchal, the capital and the only town of any size. Rising almost straight out of the Atlantic, the volcanic mountains of Madeira reach to 1862m (6109ft) at Pico Ruivo, the island’s highest point, and the deep, precipitous canyons that have formed over eons of time make Madeira’s scenery something really spectacular.

As we explore the dramatic canyon at Ribeiro Frio, where we will walk along a path next to a ‘levada’, one of the many small irrigation canals painstakingly built along the sides of Madeira’s canyons to take water to cultivatable areas, we shall enjoy some of the finest views in the island (with the highest peaks of the island towering above us, providing it is clear). Here we will be looking out for the endemic Trocaz (or Long-toed) Pigeon, as well as Madeiran Kinglet (formerly treated as a race of Firecrest), plus the Madeiran forms of the Grey Wagtail and Common Chaffinch (the latter a potential split), European Robin, Common Blackbird and Blackcap. At Funchal, or elsewhere along the coastal strip, we can expect to see three Macaronesian endemics,

Plain Swift, Berthelot’s Pipit and Atlantic Canary, as well as Atlantis (or Azorean) Gull. In addition we should find Common Kestrel, Common Tern, Spanish and Rock Sparrows, and European Goldfinch.

Madeira’s star attraction is, however, its breeding seabirds, so we will make three exciting trips offshore in search of pelagic seabirds to make sure we get great views of the key species.

The endangered, breeding-endemic Zino’s (or Madeira) Petrel, only relatively recently recognized as a species distinct from Fea’s Petrel (and indeed all three forms were formerly lumped with Soft-plumaged Petrel of the Southern Oceans), thanks to careful studies by the Zinos, is now reduced to a tiny and perhaps declining population. However, with the specialist local knowledge of our guides,

Trocaz (or Long-toed) Pigeons (Tony Disley)

Zino’s Petrel (Nik Borrow)

3 Birdquest Detailed Tour Itinerary: The Azores, Madeira & The Canary Islands

we will put our boat directly into the path of the birds returning to their remaining colonies high in the central mountains of Madeira and we can expect good views of the ultra-rare seabird!

The arid Desertas, stark rocky scraps of land almost devoid of vegetation situated to the southeast of Madeira, are now free from rats and goats after an eradication campaign and set to enjoy a massive increase in the number of breeding seabirds. These rugged islands are a spectacular sight, rising steeply from the ocean like bare mountain tops that seemingly might have emerged from the deeps just yesterday. Not far offshore, the floor of the Atlantic is over 1000m deep and seabirds gather where there are upwellings along the edge of the much shallower shelf that connects the Desertas to Madeira. Off Bugio, we should see good number’s of Desertas Petrels, a species now treated as distinct from Fea’s or Cape Verde Petrel that breeds only on the Desertas, admiring their rapid, bounding flight action that gave rise to the name ‘gadfly petrel’ for the genus Pterodroma.

During our boat trips we should also encounter numerous Cory’s Shearwaters

and good numbers of Bulwer’s Petrels. Madeiran (or Band-rumped) Storm-Petrel also nests in the Madeira group and we have a very good chance of encountering this species. Splitting the Madeiran (or Band-rumped) Storm-Petrel complex may gain wider acceptance in the future, and there are both summer and winter breeding populations in the Madeira group. Cetaceans are sometimes sighted, with the most frequently encountered species being Atlantic Spotted, Short-beaked Common and Common Bottle-nosed Dolphins.

Day 7 After some final birding on Madeira we will catch a flight to Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria and from there we will fly across to Fuerteventura, one of the easternmost Canary Islands, for a two nights stay.

Day 8 After the verdant landscape of Madeira we will have to get used to the sandy, almost Saharan vistas of Fuerteventura, the second largest island in the Canary Islands group. The North African coast is a mere 110 kilometres away and consequently the climate is very dry (even sandstorms are by no means exceptional). During the summer months

the scorching Harmatan sometimes blows straight from the heart of the Sahara desert. Tectonic activity has shaped the landscape here as well, and the looming presence of extinct volcanoes is a telltale reminder of past turmoil. Small white villages fringed with palm trees and hedges of prickly pears enhance the impression that we might be in the North African Maghreb. Holiday villages have mushroomed along the wide white beaches, but we will spend most of our time exploring the nearly deserted hinterland.

Fuerteventura is the only place in the world where the dainty Canary Islands (or Fuerteventura) Stonechat occurs. Looking rather like a cross between a Common Stonechat and a Whinchat (although which species it evolved from remains uncertain), this attractive little bird mainly inhabits the dry rocky gorges, known locally as barrancos, but it can also be found wherever dry scrub offers a suitable nesting site. Like most chats they perch conspicuously out in the open and particularly favour the peculiar-looking euphorbias.

The island is also well known for its healthy population of Houbara Bustards, a species which is now threatened with extinction by hunting pressure across most of its

range from north Africa through the Middle East to Central Asia. Luckily, Arab falconers are not allowed to slaughter these magnificent creatures here, so their future prospects look quite hopeful. With the splitting off of the eastern form macqueenii, found from Sinai eastwards, as Macqueen’s Bustard, and faced with the difficulty in seeing this critically endangered species in North Africa, seeing the ‘real’ Houbara Bustard increasingly means going to Fuerteventura.

Elegant but well-camouflaged Cream-coloured Coursers and large-eyed Stone Curlews share the same habitat and we may well encounter small numbers of Black-bellied Sandgrouse. Small flocks of Trumpeter Finches forage in the most desolate areas, often accompanied by Lesser Short-toed Larks and the ubiquitous Berthelot’s Pipit. Hedges of introduced agave hold Spectacled Warblers and offer hiding places for Barbary Partridges, whilst rock walls provide shelter for Barbary Ground Squirrels. Egyptian Vultures soar over the dry plains and Southern Grey Shrikes perch prominently on wires or tall euphorbia bushes. The local subspecies of Common Raven looks surprisingly small and its call sounds quite different from that of North European birds.

Day 9 After spending the morning on Fuerteventura

Desertas Petrels (Craig Robson)

Canary Islands Stonechat (Nik Borrow)

4 Birdquest Detailed Tour Itinerary: The Azores, Madeira & The Canary Islands

we will fly across to the island of Tenerife for a three nights stay.

Days 10-11 Tenerife, with its peculiar triangular shape, is the largest of the Canary Islands and is dominated by the great volcanic Pico de Teide (3718m), the highest mountain in Spain. Tenerife’s varied landscapes reflect the its volcanic origins. Great expanses of crinkled black lava fields, beaches of black and grey sand and the typical conical volcano shape of the mighty Teide speak for themselves. A trip across the sparsely vegetated high plateau (in fact an old crater) with its bizarrely crafted rock formations and twisted lava slabs is not unlike a voyage across the surface of the moon. Climatic differences are quite marked between the northern and southern parts of Tenerife as the northeast trade winds bring more rain to the frequently cloud-wreathed north-facing slopes, whereas the south is usually drier, sunnier and windier. Tenerife is characterized by six different types of vegetation, but to birdwatchers the laurel forests of the northern slopes are the most interesting habitat.

Tree heaths and several endemic species of evergreen dwarf trees, up to 10m tall, create a very special kind of primeval forest on the moist, north-facing slopes of the island that are the headquarters of the endemic Laurel Pigeon and Bolle’s Pigeon. Most of the original forest has been cleared and it is only in the surviving patches on the steeper slopes and more inaccessible valleys that the pigeons can still be found. These shy denizens of the woods can best be observed from vantage points from which one can keep an eye on the tree tops down below.

The Atlantic Canary, symbol of the islands, can be found here and in most other habitats, usually in small flocks. Renowned for their pretty song, they were first captured and exported to Europe as cage birds in the 15th century. Rocky crags provide breeding habitat for the distinctive local race of the Rock Dove and dense scrub harbours Sardinian Warblers. We may also encounter the dashing Barbary Falcon.

Above 800m we enter open forest of the endemic Canary Islands Pine and

the favourite habitat of the endemic Blue (or Canary Islands) Chaffinch. This beautiful dusky-blue finch forages in much the same way as the well known Common Chaffinch, which also occurs here in the form of a strikingly different-looking subspecies. The endemic Canary Islands Blue Tit displays equally unusual plumage and often acts rather like a treecreeper. Endemic races of Common Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Blackcap are also found here. The distinctive local Regulus is now widely considered a good species, Canary Islands Kinglet, after a century of prevarication as to whether it was a race of the Goldcrest or of the Firecrest, while the local robins have now been split as Canary Islands (or Tenerife) Robin and the local chiffchaffs, with their distinctive song, have now been split as Canary Islands Chiffchaff. The barren, desert-like plains of southern Tenerife are characterized by extensive stands of euphorbias, which look almost like cacti and make one feel as though one was in Arizona or New Mexico. (Small wonder then that this has been a frequent location for the shooting of western films!) Spectacled Warbler and the uncommon Rock Sparrow also prefer this desolate habitat. Spanish Sparrows are ubiquitous in the lowlands, whilst Atlantis (or Azorean) Gulls are widely distributed along the coast. Overhead, loud screams betray the presence of Plain Swifts.

The Canaries are well known for their collection of interesting petrels and shearwaters and the best way of seeing these is to take the inter-island ferries and especially the ferry that plies between Tenerife and Gomera. We will make the crossing to Gomera and back during our second full

day, looking out for both birds and sea mammals. Cory’s Shearwaters are by far the most common pelagic species and it is a real delight to study them in detail as they bank spectacularly close to the ship. The prize bird here is Little Shearwater, which can reliably be observed during the crossings, along with a few Bulwer’s Petrels. European Storm-Petrels also breed within the archipelago and we may well see some of these miniscule but hardy seafarers. Madeiran (or Band-rumped) Storm-Petrel and White-faced Storm-Petrel are only rarely encountered. We may also see a pod of Short-finned Pilot Whales lazing on the surface and perhaps an exuberant group of Common Bottle-nosed Dolphins.

Day 12 The tour ends this morning on Tenerife.

Accommodation & Road Transport: The hotels are of good standard throughout. Road transport is by minibus and roads are mostly good.

Walking: The walking effort is easy.

Climate: In the Azores and Madeira it is typically warm and mostly sunny in coastal areas, but it is regularly cool and overcast in the mountains. There may be some rain, with chances highest in the mountains. In the Canary Islands most days are warm or hot, dry and sunny. It is sometimes cool and overcast, but prolonged rain is unlikely.

Bird Photography: Opportunities are quite good.

Part-Tour Option: Subject to space being available, it is possible to take just the Azores & Madeira section or the Canary Islands section of this tour. Please contact us for further information.

Houbara Bustard (Tony Disley)