Madeira Wind Birds

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Zino's Petrel Pelagic Expedition

Three afternoons at sea chumming to ID and photograph Zino's, Fea's and Bulwer’s Petrels, White-faced, Madeiran and other Storm-petrels. The ultimate Western Palearctic pelagic trip!

Madeira Pelagics White-faced Storm Petrel by Kjetil Schjølberg

Madeira Pelagics Bulwer's Petrel by Kjetil Schjølberg

Madeira Pelagics Cory's Sheawater by Kjetil Schjølberg

Madeira Pelagics Fea's Petrel by Kjetil Schjølberg

Madeira Pelagics Zino's Petrel by Kjetil Schjølberg

Madeira Pelagic Bulwer's Petrel by Kjetil Schjølberg

Madeira Whale Watching Trip Madeira whale watching Common Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus

Online Price: €525.00 EUR (per person) Children same price as adult.

Madeira Pelagics Highlights

Great and close views of Petrels, Storm-Petrels and Shearwaters
Marine Mammals often visit us while drifting for seabirds
The crew are ornitologists dedicated to the conservation of Zino's Petrels
These trips originated from the research of Hadoram Shirihai and Wind Birds
The quest for "Snowy-winged Petrel" seen only on research trips

Pelagics Videos

Pelagics Tours

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 that consists in observing closely the greatest number of tubenoses on the Western Palearctic and some close encounters with whales and dolphins too.

Finally, Madeira has real pelagic trips run by birdwatchers for birdwatchers! 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 hot spots 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, found the right and safest boat for this kind of trips and .... Now Catarina and Hugo, from 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, 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 hot spots, 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 bird species. Every day we will look for cetaceans, and if we spot any whales or dolphins, we will spend some time watching them.

Below is a list of pelagic birds and sea mammals seen during Wind Birds pelagic trips (Madeira Seawatching), since 2010:

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, 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: Sabine's Gull Xema sabini, Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis, Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea, Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii, Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis, Common Tern Sterna hirundo

Stercorariidae: Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus, Great Skua Stercorarius skua, Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus, Long-tailed Skua Stercorarius longicaudus, South Polar Skua Stercorarius maccormicki

Scolopacidae: Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius

Sulidae: 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

Note that some of these bird species are rarely seen in the Western Palearctic or even in the North Atlantic Ocean making these pelagic expeditions so special and memorable!

Peter Harrison's Review

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Madeira Pelagics 2018

May 23, 24, 25 (confirmed trip; only 1 place available to book)
~~June 20, 21, 22~~ (fully booked)
~~June 26, 27, 28~~ (fully booked)
~~July 3, 4, 5~~ (fully booked)
July 25, 26, 27 (confirmed trip; only 5 places available to book)
~~August 1, 2, 3~~
August 7, 8, 9 (accepting bookings)
August 23,24, 25 (confirmed trip; only 2 places available to book)

Madeira Pelagics 2019

May 1, 2, 3 (accepting bookings)
May 22, 23, 24 (accepting bookings)
June 25, 26, 27 (accepting bookings)
More dates available by request. The flags represent the birdwatchers nationalities already booked.