PORTUGAL AZORES 8–16 October 2010 8–16 October 2011 Leaders: Catarina Fagundes and Hugo Romano

This scattered volcanic archipelago lies a third of the way across the Atlantic Ocean but still lies within the Western Palearctic. The islands location means they attract North American vagrant birds blown out over the Atlantic. In recent years, the Azores have proved to be the absolute Mecca for rare vagrants: recently they hosted Wood Duck, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, Northern Parula, Blackpoll, Hooded and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Red-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos and Scarlet Tanager. There is one endemic: Azores Bullfinch, plus seabirds occur in large numbers and we will have a good chance of seeing cetaceans.

Day 1 Scheduled flight from London via Lisbon to Ponta Delgada, the capital of the islands, situated on the island of São Miguel. We will immediately transfer to our nearby hotel for an overnight stay.

Day 2 This morning we will head back to the airport for an internal flight to Santa Cruz on Flores. Once we have checked into our comfortable hotel, we will explore this small island measuring only 17 x 12 kilometres. There are a large number of good birdwatching sites and we will concentrate on four of them during our stay. We will start by visiting Fajã Grande, probably one of the best places in the Western Palearctic for Nearctic vagrants. The small fields and woods are a delight to explore and we will stay in constant touch by radio as we look for North American thrushes, warblers, tanagers and buntings. Next, we will visit Ponta Delgada, the most northerly point on the island and another vagrant ‘hotspot’. Our third destination will be the excellent Lagoa Branca, which attracts vagrant ducks and waders as well as a resident population of American Black Ducks and their hybrids. Other birds recorded here in the past include Great Blue Heron, Hooded Merganser and Short-billed Dowitcher.

Day 3 First thing in the morning we will check the harbour and airport at Santa Cruz. The harbour frequently holds gulls of various species and, as well as the ubiquitous Yellow-legged Gulls, we will look for American Herring, Bonaparte’s, Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls. The airport can also be an excellent place for roosting gulls as well as waders, with species like Buff-breasted and Pectoral Sandpipers possible. After buying the ingredients for our packed lunches, we will spend the entire day touring the island and revisiting some/all of yesterday’s sites as well as some new ones. In the afternoon we will return to Santa Cruz and spend some time seawatching, with species like Great, Little, Manx and Sooty Shearwaters all possible amongst the numerous Cory’s Shearwaters. Indeed, should we get a storm at any time during our visit to the islands we will find an appropriate headland in the hope that we may find rarer seabirds like Bulwer’s Petrel, Madeiran and White-faced Storm-petrels or Sabine’s Gull. Cetaceans can also be seen and may include Sperm Whales as well as the smaller Short-finned Pilot Whales. There is also the possibility of Blue, Fin, Minke and Sei Whales as well as numerous dolphins including Bottlenose, Common, Risso’s, Spotted and Striped.

Day 4 After some final birding on Flores, we will transfer back to the airport for a short internal flight to Villa do Corvo, capital of Corvo. After checking into our guesthouse we will set out to explore this even smaller island, which measures just 6.5 x 4 kilometres. Although the island is small, we will arrange for transport to take us to the far end before searching a number of wooded valleys on the walk back. In recent years, vagrants have included a staggering number of North American birds including Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk, Philadelphia, Red-eyed, White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos, Black-throated Blue and Tennessee Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Bobolink and Baltimore Oriole.

Day 5 We will spend the entire day scouring the woods, valleys and fields of this magical island. Once again we will arrange a lift to the far end of the island and walk back, taking packed lunches with us. Should the weather deteriorate there will be the option of returning to our guesthouse at any time by simply telephoning our gracious host.

Day 6 After some final morning birding on Corvo, we will catch our early afternoon inter-island flight back to São Miguel via Flores. Because of the unpredictability of weather, however, there is a possibility that the flight could be delayed, in which case we will not waste time waiting at the airport but will continue birding! Should the weather cause a delay of a day or two, we have allowed sufficient margin within our itinerary to accommodate this. On arrival back on Sao Miguel, we will check into our hotel and explore the harbour and airport areas, searching for ducks, waders and gulls.

Day 7 An early morning start to look for Azores Bullfinch at the eastern end of the island. This species is now very rare but we will make every effort to see it. At the Miradouro da Tronqueira, we will see a valley still largely dominated by the natural vegetation that covered the islands before man arrived. While we are searching for the bullfinch, we should see Island Canary and the local races of Chaffinch and Goldcrest. In the afternoon, we will travel to the western end of the island, stopping en route at Ribiera Grande, to look for waders and gulls. Taking the route via Sete Citades, an extinct volcano, we will visit a crater lake, Lagoa Azul, which is a magnet for vagrant American waders and herons. We continue on to Mosterios, which, with the right conditions, is a great seawatching site where Cory’s Shearwaters stream past. The harbour at Mosterios is another excellent site for waders and possibilities include Baird’s, Least, Pectoral, Semipalmated, Spotted and White-rumped Sandpipers or something even rarer such as a Great Blue, Green, Little Blue or Tricolored Heron.

Day 8 We have the whole day to explore São Miguel again, either visiting new sites or revisiting those that were productive yesterday.

Day 9 We may have time for some final birding on São Miguel before catching our flight back to the UK via Lisbon.

General Information The pace of this tour is moderate with a reasonable degree of fitness required as there will be walks of several miles most days. The weather can be highly variable so appropriate clothing and footwear is required.

Group Size Minimum number for tour to go ahead: 6; maximum group size: 12 with 2 leaders.

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