Started the day at Funchal were we went around the market and had a snack before heading off to Machico for the Bird, Whale & Dolphin trip with Madeira Wind Birds. An early shout of Fea’s went up, but it was way too distant to be sure (though apparently Zino’s is never seen in this area?)
Atlantic Spotted Dolphins were constantly swimming beside and underneath the boat, which was great for Michelle and Sam, and we had several views of Bryde’s Whale.
After about an hour we came across a huge feeding frenzy with hundreds of Cory’s Shearwaters on the water. In amongst this I managed to pick up a Pterodroma which eventually came in close enough for positive identification as Fea’s Petrel. Tick number two!
On the way back I’m fairly sure that I saw Sei Whale as these photos seem to confirm…?
Arriving back at shore, myself and Hugo Romano (the guide) picked up an Osprey, a rare bird for Madeira. This was shortly followed by another rare bird for Madeira, found by Tom whilst I was putting the gear in the car: A Spoonbill in-off the sea. With my camera in the car, I took a phone photo for the record…
A great trip followed by some street food as we happened to turn up on the evening of the Machico Food Festival.
Update (13/08/2014): After looking at various photographs, the ‘Sei Whale’ was correctly called as a Bryde’s Whale.
