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 Island, Portugal

Close views and excellent photo opportunities of Zino's, Desertas and Bulwer's Petrels, White-faced, Madeiran storm-petrels, Cory's shearwaters and other seabirds on a Madeira offshore pelagic!
- Schedule
  
  Only run on the scheduled dates and after a minimum of 4 bookings. Please check the dates and contact us before you book your flights!
- Itinerary
  
  The trip departs from Machico harbour wall, in Machico and rides towards a different area each day. Approx. 7 hours trip each day.
- Price
  
  525 EUR per person (1+ years old)
  Minors (below 18) are only allowed if accompanied by parent

Highlights

Great and close views of Petrels, Storm-Petrels and Shearwaters
High chance of whales and dolphins sightings.
Inclusions

Sandwiches and snacks provided
Enough chum for 3 to 4 hours drifting
E-mail us for a detailed information kit
Meeting point

By Machico harbour wall, in Machico city (Southeast Madeira, VR1 Dual carriageway, exists 25 and 26). Easy parking by the harbour.
Group size

Minimum people to run the trip: 5
Maximum group size: 9
Staff to Guest ratio: 2/9
Friendly advice

Take warm and impermeable clothes (trousers, jacket and shoes), hat, sunscreen and water. Sleep well on the nights before these trips and eat well before departing to the sea, these are fundamental conditions to spend a nice day out at sea. Try to stay 2 more days in Madeira after your pelagic expedition dates as we might need to postpone the trips due to bad weather. And remember rough sea is the best for Petrels!
Research

The crew are ornithologists dedicated to the conservation of Zino's Petrels
Trips developed from the research of Hadoram Shirihai and Wind Birds

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, Stercorariidae

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

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.

2021 Trips Accepting Bookings (Updating Daily)

May 26, 27, 28 (confirmed trip; 3 places available) 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 🇱🇺 🇨🇭 🇬🇧
June 17, 18, 19 (pending 5 bookings to confirm)
June 22, 23, 24 (confirmed trip; 1 place available) 🇸🇪 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
June 27, 28, 29 (confirmed trip; 3 places available) 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
July 14, 15, 16 (pending bookings to confirm)
July 24, 25, 26 (confirmed trip; 3 places available) 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 🇸🇪 🇬🇧
August 10, 11, 12 (confirmed trip; 2 places available) 🇨🇭 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
August 17, 18, 19 (pending bookings to confirm)
August 24, 25, 26 (confirmed trip; 5 places available) 🇨🇦 🇬🇧

2022 Trips Accepting Bookings

April 27, 28, 29; May 27, 28, 29 (confirmed trip; 4 places available); June 1, 2, 3; June 6, 7, 8; June 16, 17, 18; June 21, 22, 23; June 26, 27, 28 (confirmed trip; 4 places available) 🇬🇧;

Trips Fully Booked

2021: July 1, 2, 3 🇨🇦 🇱🇺 🇬🇧; July 19, 20, 21 🇬🇧; July 29, 30, 31 🇫🇮;

2022: June 11, 12, 13 🇬🇧;

Notes

More dates available by request. The flags represent the birdwatchers nationalities already booked.
Before booking your flights contact us, availabilty is always changing, with several clients pending.