Azores Bird Watching Holiday – 7 nights
The endemic Azores Bullfinch and the range-restricted Atlantic Canary are the star landbirds, although the superb track record of the islands for American vagrants – both passerines and waterbirds – means that we should expect the unexpected during our visit. Add to that some exciting seabirds, and this island-hopping tour offers a unique new dimension to birding in the region.
This holiday is being run in conjunction with Birdwatch magazine, visit the Birdwatch website
For a report on last year's trip click here
Itinerary
| > Day 1 | We will depart the UK on a direct flight to São Miguel, the largest island in the Azores, and arrive at Ponta Delgada late evening. |
| > Day 2 | After an early breakfast, we will visit Serra da Tronqueira in the mountainous east of the island to search for the endemic Azores Bullfinch. This endangered species can be difficult to locate, but we have a good chance of finding it at a favoured site if the weather holds. Atlantic Canary and the local subspecies of Common Buzzard, Chaffinch and Goldcrest should all be seen, and we will then visit the Furnas area, where both Wood Duck and Pied-billed Grebe have been resident in recent years. En route back to Ponta Delgada we will see endemic Atlantic Gulls and perhaps our first Cory’s Shearwaters and waders of the trip. Our final stop of the day will be for roosting gulls and terns (where in 2007 we discovered the first White-winged Black Tern for the islands). Night Ponta Delgada. |
| > Day 3 | This morning we fly to the remote island of Flores in the far north-west of the archipelago. Heavily underwatched compared to neighbouring Corvo, it has perhaps the greatest untapped potential of all the Azorean islands, as shown by recent records of American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Killdeer, Upland Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Magnolia and Yellow Warblers, Savannah Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting and, last autumn, the Western Palearctic’s second and third Dickcissels. Night Flores. |
| > Day 4 | We will either spend a full day checking the most productive sites on the island, including wetlands where Nearctic waders are regularly found and American Black Duck is now resident, or alternatively take the boat across the channel to neighbouring Corvo (weather permitting) if there are twitchable major vagrants which demand our attention. The channel itself should produce good views of Cory’s Shearwaters and perhaps other seabirds. Night Flores. |
| > Day 5 | We’ll be in regular touch with other birders on Flores and so have a last chance to clean up on any lingering rarities on the island today. But the possibility of new arrivals means that we’ll also need to revisit favoured migrant traps and check the best sites in the hope of finding any ‘new’ Nearctic wildfowl, waders, warblers, sparrows and other vagrants of our own. Night Flores. |
| > Day 6 | We say goodbye to Flores this morning and fly to Faial in the central group of islands. Weather permitting, there may be an option of a pioneering pelagic trip into offshore waters in the afternoon. Cory’s Shearwaters are often present in numbers, and among them we will look out for a late Great or locally breeding Macaronesian Shearwater, as well as the chance of rarer species such as Bulwer’s Petrel and also storm-petrels, which could include two forms of ‘Madeiran’ (Grant’s and the endemic Monteiro’s). Night Horta, Faial. |
| > Day 7 | After an early breakfast we should have time to check the harbour area for gulls and seabirds before flying to Terceira. This island is the wader hot-spot of the Azores, with the tidal quarry pools at Cabo da Praia frequently hosting wayward strays from North America. These have included flocks of White-rumped and Semipalmated Sandpipers, regular Semipalmated Plovers and ‘megas’ like Hudsonian Godwit and Short-billed Dowitcher. Time permitting, we will also visit one or two other wetlands on the island and keep an eye and ear out for Common Quail before catching an evening flight to São Miguel. Night in Ponta Delgada. |
| > Day 8 | With a last early start we’ll have time to visit the west of the island, where there is a final opportunity to add any Nearctic shorebirds, wildfowl and herons to our trip list. On previous trips these have included Western Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs and Ring-necked Duck, and there is always the chance of an American ‘mega’. We will then catch our direct flight back to the UK, arriving home in the evening. |
Dates & Prices
| All prices are per person (£) based on twin sharing but we can also quote for single supplements. | |||||||||
Date |
Price |
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16th October to 23rd October 2010 |
Price: £1275pp Single sup: £135 |
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| Accommodation: Residencial Matriz, Argonauta and Residencial Sao Francisco |
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Price includes:
All economy class air travel as per itinerary, all pre-paid airport and departure taxes, ground transport by minibus, hotel accommodation with en-suite facilities and breakfast, services of Birdwatch tour leader, pre-tour information pack and day-to-day bird checklist..
Price excludes:
Travel insurance (from £21 per person), optional half-day pelagic trip on Faial (£65), lunch and dinners (allow £10-20 per day), drinks, laundry, souvenirs and other items of a personal nature. There is a single room supplement of £135 (please note there are only limited single rooms on Flores).
