Procellariidae

Zino's Petrel Pterodroma madeira, Fea's Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta, Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis, Macaronesian Shearwater Puffinus baroli, Bulwer's Petrel Bulweria bulwerii, Cory's Shearwater Calonectris borealis, Scopoli's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea, Cape Verde Shearwater Calonectris edwardsii, Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus, Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus, Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis, Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus

Hydrobatidae

Madeiran Storm Petrel Oceanodroma castro (winter & summer populations), European Storm Petrel Hydrobates pelagicus, Swinhoe's Storm Petrel Oceanodroma monorhis, Wilson's Storm Petrel Oceanites oceanicus, Leach's Storm Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa, White-faced Storm Petrel Pelagodroma marina, Black-bellied Storm Petrel Fregetta tropica (1st Record for the Western Palearctic)

Laridae, Stercorariidae

Sabine's Gull Xema sabini, Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis, Lesser black-backed Gull Larus fuscus, Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea, Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis, Common Tern Sterna hirundo, Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus, Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus, Great Skua Stercorarius skua, Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus, Long-tailed Skua Stercorarius longicaudus, South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki, Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus

Scolopacidae, Sulidae

Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius, Northern Gannet Morus bassanus, Brown Booby Sula leucogaster

Mammalia

Mediterranean Monk Seal Monachus monachus, Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus, Bryde's Whale Balaenoptera edeni, Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus, Northen Minke Whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Cuvier's Beaked Whale Ziphius cavirostris, Blainville's Beaked Whale Mesoplodon densirostris, Gervais' Beaked Whale Mesoplodon europaeus, Short-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala macrorhynchus, Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus, Atlantic Spotted Dolphin Stenella frontalis, Striped Dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba, Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis

This is a package of three long afternoons of a pelagic adventure on the Western North Atlantic Ocean, around Madeira Island. An ultimate birdwatching experience aiming to observe at a very close range the greatest number of tubenoses on the Western Palearctic and some close encounters with whales and dolphins too.

These are real pelagic trips run by birdwatchers for birdwatchers and where the participants learn how to distinguish Zino's from Desertas Petrels! Three days of ultimate pelagic expedition focused on Petrels, Storm-petrels, Shearwaters and any other vagrant bird species that might be around the North Atlantic Ocean.

Since 2008 Madeira Wind Birds, together with Hadoram Shirihai, have been researching Madeira sea to find the hotspots for seabirds as Zino's Petrels, Fea's/Desertas Petrels, Madeiran Petrel and White-faced Storm Petrel. During these long days at sea, they developed the chum technique and found the right and safest boat for this kind of trips. So now Catarina and Hugo, owners of Wind Birds, are the most experienced team to organise and run deep sea pelagic trips in the North Atlantic and the 11-meter rigid-hulled inflatable boat, Oceanodroma, is the best boat ever used for this kind of sea expedition.

On the first two afternoons of this pelagic expedition around Madeira Island, we will search for different bird species at different areas, being one day for Zino's Petrels and Madeiran Storm Petrels while on the second pelagic trip we look for Fea's Petrels and White-faced Storm Petrels. The third afternoon at sea is kept for missing species or to increase the sightings of seabird species. Every day we will look for cetaceans, and if we spot any whales or dolphins, we will spend some time watching them.

Before booking flights, confirm availability—it's highly dynamic, spots fill rapidly, and demand frequently exceeds capacity.

2026 Trips accepting penciled bookings

May 15, 16, 17; May 27, 28, 29; June 2, 3, 4; June 12, 13, 14; July 1, 2, 3; July 16, 17, 18; July 29, 30, 31; August 10, 11, 12; August 20, 21, 22

The flags represent the birdwatchers nationalities already booked.