We were very fortunate to have a week’s winter sun in Madeira at the end of November and one day I joined a “Madeira Wind Birds” tour run by naturalists Hugo Romano & Catarina Correia-Fagundes.
The aim of the tour was primarily to try and spot birds endemic to Madeira, that is, birds unique to the island, as well as other birds common to the island. An endemic example is the Madeiran Firecrest, similar to a UK Goldcrest but with a striking fiery orange crest. We found a couple in the Palheiro gardens in the north of Funchal
We also spotted chaffinches in the Palheiro gardens. These are a subspecies endemic to Madeira which have blue and green colouring on them.
We went looking for a pigeon, but not just any pigeon, this one is the Trocaz pigeon with its distinct white stripe on the tail feathers, only found on Madeira. This one was in a wooded valley in Funchal, however I later spotted one in the Monte Botanic Gardens.
We spent some time walking along by a river in Machico. Nearby we saw Common Waxbills feeding on seed stalks. These tiny finches were introduced from Africa. I was thrilled to see them with their red bills and red eye bands.
Along by the river we saw lots of Muscovy ducks and some interesting cross breeds of ducks as well as a coot and some moorhens.
We also observed sandpipers, dunlin, grey wagtails and turnstones. I have seen turnstones down on the seashore before but had not fully appreciated just how apt their name is. They really do turn quite big stones over to forage for tasty treats underneath.
This little egret flew up the river.
We saw the spectacled warbler trying to stay hidden in scrubland bushes at the Sao Lorenco peninsula. It’s behaviour is similar to a wren but it has distinct rings around its tiny eyes, giving it its name. It was not for being observed, never mind photographed, as it never stayed out in the open long enough to see it properly. However the Berthelot’s pipit was less shy and was happier to pose on rocks to get its photo taken.
Finally, all holiday we saw lots of kestrels, perhaps Madeira’s most common bird of prey. They feed on the numerous lizards.
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 