Madeira Day 4

   For our final morning on Madeira we had tried to book a speedboat trip with boat Ventura do Mar and Magic Dolphin, but they were both full. We could have gone again with Rota dos Cetaceos but since we kept encountering the same species we eventually decided to save our money and just have a relaxed morning around Funchal. We did check the sightings board of the two former companies, and were pleased to see the only Cetacean they had seen was Bottlenose Dolphin, although it was gutting to see that Magic Dolphin managed to see a Mediterranean Monk Seal.

  Obviously walking around Funchal does not provide ample birding opportunities, but we still saw nice species such as Atlantic Canary and Plain Swift, whilst offshore there were nice close views of Yellow-legged Gull and Common Tern. Monarch butterflies and Clouded Yellows were both common in the gardens, and we saw two more Madeiran Wall Lizards. After a few drinks in the city centre we headed off to the airport and then back to Paris, rounding off a few delightful days on the island. 

Madeira Day 3

  The morning started very well, as whilst waiting at the harbour in Funchal, Laura spotted a large caterpillar moving not far from where we were. A couple of inches long, I picked it up and moved it to a safer location. I suspected, from the patterning, that it might be a Deaths Head Hawkmoth, but a washed-out individual, so I sent the photos to AC for confirmation, who happily agreed. For a caterpillar, it was remarkably strong in my hand.

   Still lacking whales, we arranged another visit morning speedboat trip, this time returning to Magic Dolphin. We departed at 10:00, slightly later than the previous day and headed out to see in much the same direction as the previous day. Sadly the whales did not materialise and the only species we encountered was presumably the same pod of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins. They showed just as well, if not better, than the previous day and we were even able to pick out a couple of actually spotted individuals. Our subsequent searching yielded no additional species, although we were told there had been another sighting of a Blainville’s Beaked Whale near Funchal, but we could not connect with it. 

  Because of this, we decided to try again in the afternoon, although had a hard time tracking down a company operating tours at later times in the day. In the end we booked with Rota dos Cetaceos, who were excellent although a little more expensive. Their speedboat was slightly bigger, capable of carrying 36 people I understood, but we made sure we were sat right at the front. This did mean that we would feel the effects of the waves more than sitting in the middle, but it was much more fun than sitting at the back. We departed Funchal at 16:00, and they even had a later tour than even that, had we wanted it.

  For the first time we headed out to the east side of the island and here it was much choppier, but that in turn brought several birds to us, including two Desertas Petrels which showed phenomenally well, as well as the Bulwers Petrels and Corys Shearwaters we had gotten used to. On the cetacean front we were treated to a real show by a group of maybe five Short-finned Pilot Whales as they crested the waves, giving us full views of the animals. For some reason we were able to stay longer with the group than the 10 minutes normally allowed. Despite not bringing any new species to our list, it was the best encounter of any that we had during out time on the island. 

-Short-finned Pilot Whale

-Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

-Deaths Head Hawkmoth

Madeira Day 2

   As mentioned, the motorboat trip from the previous afternoon had been rearranged for this morning, so that meant our morning had already been organised. This was with the company Ventura do Mar, and we set off nice and early at 09:30, out to sea in a motorboat containing just 15 people.

  It did not take us long to encounter a group of animals, but sadly they were ‘only’ Bottlenose Dolphins. They did a little bit of jumping but not too much, and our views were limited to mostly fins coming out of the water, even if they were at close range. We stayed with them for 10 minutes, during which time the animals seemed very relaxed, before we sped off westward to try to find some different species. On this westwardly trip I spotted the first Deseratas/Zinos Petrel of the trip, but sadly I never got a view of the underwings to have any indication as to which one of the pair it was.

  After a rapid trip across the ocean, we arrived at our second group of animals, a pod of around 20 Atlantic Spotted Dolphins. This was a species I really wanted to see but it was a little disappointing that most of the animals seemed to be younger and therefore did not have the striking spotty patterning. Still, they were very interactive with the boat, swimming alongside and offering fantastic views for the time we were able to spend with them. This was our last stop before heading back to port, where we received the disappointing news that the Magic Dolphin tour that had been out at the same time had seen a Blainville’s Beaked Whale!

  In the afternoon we took the Madeira Cable Car company ride up to the gardens above Funchal. There are apparently two cable car companies in the area, and I made a bit of a ballsup with picking the right one. I should not have booked it in advance. Still we had an enjoyable late afternoon ride up the correct cable car at additional expense and a nice walk in the woods overlooking the city. The birds here were quite numerous, with two different Madeiran Firecrests seen, both looking awful in their post breeding moult, and several Madeira Chaffinches also seen but not quite as well. This was still a subspecies last time I saw it, so it was good to be reconnected. In addition there was a Madeiran Wood White and several Madeiran Wall Lizards, including one that decided to bite me when I tried to touch it…

-Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

-Common Bottlenose Dolphin

-Madeiran Wall Lizard

Madeira Day 1

  Since I would be going away for the best part of two months at the end of the year, I decided to take Laura away somewhere nice to attempt to soften this blow. Since whale-watching had long been a topic of conversation, the eventual destination I decided upon was Madeira, since it has a wide variety of cetacean species, as well as stunning scenery and a very relaxed lifestyle. We had three nights on the island and made plans to do several whale-watching trips to maximise our chances of a Rorqual or equally large whale sighting. 

  Our flight from Paris landed us in Madeira at midday, and we had booked our first trip for 14:00 from Funchal that afternoon. To save costs on a hire car, our AirBnB was located just outside the city centre of Funchal, from where we could easily walk to several whale watching operators. Because it was already September and tourist season was slowing down, the motorboat trip I booked with Ventura do Mar was rearranged for the following morning, so I eventually arranged a catamaran tour with Magic Dolphin.

  This was a less intimate experience, since the Catamaran was full with what I would estimate to be around 70 people, but it was still a good start to our trip as we managed to find a group of Short-finned Pilot Whales on this first afternoon. They showed very nicely from the boat, lingering around us rather than swimming off. These were the only cetaceans that we saw, but it was very enjoyable. The catamaran trip finished with a slow cruise back along the coastline, bringing us back late afternoon. In addition to the whales, it was great to be reacquainted with Corys Shearwater and Bulwers Petrel whilst on the catamaran, even if they were not the target of the trip. 

-Short-finned Pilot Whale

-East Atlantic Sally Lightfoot Crab

-Clouded Yellow