The endemic , or Priolo, was the first of our two main targets! (Pete Morris)

AZORES

16 – 20 JUNE 2021

LEADER: PETE MORRIS

This was our first ‘mini’ tour to focus solely on the two endemic breeding species of the amazing Azores archi- pelago. It also linked nicely to our Madeira tour which also focused on the breeding endemics, making for a great combination tour when linked.

I am pleased to be able to report that we had great success in finding the two endemics. The Azores Bullfinch had been seen previously on a Birdquest Reunion tour, back in 2001, but at that time, Monteiro’s Storm Pe- trel never even existed (well it did of course, but had not been recognised as a species)! Consequently our sightings on this tour constituted another Birdquest lifer! We also saw a few other goodies including some very showy Common Quail, a smart adult Sooty Tern, and a much appreciated Barolo Shearwater.

We began the tour on Sao Miguel, arriving at Ponta Delgada in time for a quick wander around the harbour and a fine dinner. The harbour was rammed withatlantis Azorean Yellow-legged Gulls and a few breeding Common Terns with chicks that had survived right next to restaurants and a busy street!

One thinks of the Azores as tiny specs out in the Atlantic Ocean, but Sao Miguel is a rather bigger island than I remembered, and it was a fair drive to the eastern end of the island. We paused on the way at the attractive

1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com Our second target, the rare Monteiro’s Storm Petrel, was pleasingly easy to see (Ruben Terlou)

Lagoa das Furnas, though little was on show other than Common Moorhens, Eurasian Coot and a variety of grim-looking Mallards with a presumably released Ruddy Shelduck. The striking endemic Common Chaffinch form was also appreciated before we continued on to Pico da Vara. We climbed the mountain along a well- made track, though sadly the cloud and drizzle increased as we climbed. Fortunately it did not take us too long to find our first Azores Bullfinch, and soon we enjoyed great looks at several of this rare endemic. Long considered just a race of Eurasian Bullfinch, we were able to enjoy the truly unique Priolo (as it is known local- ly), and as the cloud cleared and the weather warmed, we were really able to appreciate how distinctive they are. We also appreciated the local form of Goldcrest and noticed numerous groups of Atlantic Canaries and introduced Common Waxbills.

A fine lunch followed before we headed back west and explored the west end of the island. Here we found some great coastal scenery with towering cliffs containing colonies of Yellow-legged Gulls, and the fields near- by resonated with the “wet my lips” songs of Common Quail. Usually a tough to see, it did not take us too

The first of several Common Quails seen well during the visit (Pete Morris)

2 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com long to get some great views of this often tricky bird, and I reckon the Azores must be one of the best places to get to grips with this species. A stop at the famous Sete Cidades yielded just a few common residents, and with stomachs rumbling, we decided to head back to town for dinner.

The following morning required an early start as our flight to Terceira and on to Graciosa was at a rather un- sociable hour, but all worked well, and before we knew it we were in place on the quiet and pleasant island of Graciosa. A PCR test later, we were exploring the quiet and attractive town of Santa Cruz da Graciosa and enjoying a fine seafood lunch, before driving down to Praia and boaring our rib.

We set off, admiring Roseate Terns in the harbour, and paused off the nearby island of Praia (the breeding site for many of the Monteiro’s Storm Petrels) admiring more Roseate and Common Terns. Having struggled so much to see Madeiran (Band-rumped) Storm Petrel in Madeira, we were unsure how we were to fare in the ocean off Graciosa. But we needn’t have. Literally a few minutes further out and we were admiring our first Monteiro’s Storm Petrel. The first flock of Cory’s Shearwaters on the sea held two more, and soon after, another flock of Cory’s Shearwaters held another ten or so storm petrels, and these individuals repeatedly flew around us, giving great views. We travelled further out offshore to some deeper water, but little was doing.

Cory’s Shearwaters off Graciosa (Pete Morris)

3 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com More images of the rare Monteiro’s Storm Petrel (Ruben Terlou)

A few Cory’s and the odd Monteiro’s, but nothing out of the ordinary, so we headed back towards the island. Once we hit an area where more were around, we paused and tried chumming for a while. This turned out to be highly successful as more Monteiro’s Storm Petrels gave us stunning views on the slightly choppy waters. Late on we added a couple of Bulwer’s Petrels and some great views of more Cory’s Shearwaters. By the time we headed back we estimated we had notched up around 50 Monteiro’s Storm Petrels, a significant percentage of this rare bird’s population!

The forecast for the following day was not great, but we went to sea again, this time staying closer inshore. We spent some time around Praia Island, and here, as well as getting some stunning views of Roseate Terns, we

4 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com also picked out a fine adult Sooty Tern in the colony. Offshore we found hordes of Cory’s Shearwaters and a handful of Monteiro’s Storm Petrels, but little else to write home about.

The Sooty Tern we saw, being mobbed by Common and Roseate Terns, and one of the Roseate Terns up close (Pete Morris)

5 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com Another Common Quail singing from an open field on Graciosa (Pete Morris)

After lunch, we spent the rest of the day explowing the small and picturesque island. Some time was spent looking for potential seawatching sites. We also enjoyed more amazing views of Common Quails, saw some Cory’s Shearwaters in their burrows, and, in the late afternoon, looked for Azorean Noctules. Ironically the group member most keen to see the noctule was still in the hills looking for them, when we realised the best place to see them was around the pool in the middle of town!

The spectacular Graciosa coast line (Pete Morris)

6 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com Our final morning saw us rising relatively early and seawatching from a headland. Literally 1000s of Cory’s Shearwaters were passing, but it seemed to be a complete monoculture! We stared and stared, and then, amazingly, a tiny Barolo Shearwater appeared amongst them. Some careful scope sharing ensured that ev- eryone got some scope views of this rare tubenose. Half the size of the Cory’s and flapping twice as fast, it could barely keep up with its graceful companions, and was in view for some time. We stayed for a while and kept staring, but we knew really that we had used our trump card, and the chances of finding another was slim!

We headed back for breakfast content, and then explored the picturesque Caldeira in the south of the island, enjoying the robins and chaffinches in the woodland there. All that then remained was to get showered and packed and make our way to the airport. We paused in town to buy some snacks before our flight, and sat in the town square with a cold drink. Ironically, in the hot mid-day sun, we were suddenly joined by our friend the Azorean Noctule, once agin busy over the pool much to the delight of one of the group members! A great ending to a lovely trip, one which I hope we’ll repeat soon…

A fine male Azores Bullfinch, one of several seen well (Pete Morris)

7 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com Another Monteiro’s Storm Petrel showing very well off Graciosa (Pete Morris)

SYSTEMATIC LIST OF SPECIES RECORDED DURING THE TOUR

Species marked with the diamond symbol (◊) are either endemic to the country or local region or considered ‘special’ birds for some other reason (e.g. it is only seen on one or two Birdquest tours; it is difficult to see across all or most of its range; the local form is endemic or restricted-range and may in future be treated as a full species).

Species which were heard but not seen are indicated by the symbol (H). Species which were not personally recorded by the leader are indicated by the symbol (NL). Species which were only recorded by the leader are indicated by the symbol (LO).

Conservation threat categories and are taken from the BirdLife website: http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search (EW) = Extinct in the wild, (CR) = Critically Endangered, (EN) = Endangered, (VU) = Vulnerable, (NT) = Near Threatened, (DD) = Data Deficient.

For polytypic species, the subspecies seen on the tour, where known, is placed in parentheses at the end of the species comment. Generally, species listed with trinomials are not currently split by the IOC.

The species names and used in the report mostly follows Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds). 2021. IOC World Bird List (v 11.1). This list is updated twice annually and is available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org. Please note, this was the current version when the report checklist was created. Some alternative names are given in parentheses.

All of our checklists are powered by our partner iGoTerra (www.igoterra.com) who provide web and mobile applications for bird and wildlife enthusiasts and businesses. Their suite of services cover observations, rankings, lists, photos and trip management tools.

8 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com BIRDS Ruddy Shelduck (introduced/escaped) Tadorna ferruginea A dubious individual with other monstrosities at Lagoa das Furnas. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Lots of grim escaped/introduced birds at various spots [nominate]. Common Quail Coturnix coturnix Some fantastic views out in the open on both Sao Miguel and on Graciosa [conturbans]. Rock Dove (introduced) Columba [livia] domestica Rather plentiful unfortunately. Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus The endemic, small and dingy subspecies azorica, was widespread. Eurasian Collared Dove (introduced) Streptopelia decaocto A few seen, especially on Graciosa. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus A few at various wetlands on Sao Miguel [nominate]. Eurasian Coot Fulica atra A few at various wetlands on Sao Miguel [nominate]. (Atlantic) Yellow-legged Gull Larus [michahellis] atlantis Common, especially in Ponta Delgada harbour! Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus Good views of an adult in the tern colony at Ilheu de Praia [nominate]. Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii Great views of good numbers in the tern colony at Ilheu de Praia [nominate]. Common Tern Sterna hirundo The commonest tern around the islands [nominate]. Monteiro’s Storm Petrel ◊ Oceanodroma monteiroi (VU) Stunning views of perhaps as many as 50 on our pelagics off Graciosa. Cory’s Shearwater Calonectris borealis Very common with many stunning views!

Another Cory’s Shearwater and a Yellow-legged Gull off Graciosa (Pete Morris)

9 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com More views of the cracking Roseate Terns off Graciosa (Pete Morris)

10 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com Barolo Shearwater ◊ Puffinus baroli A bit of persistence paid off with decent scope views of one off Graciosa. Bulwer’s Petrel Bulweria bulwerii Just a couple seen on our pelagic off Graciosa. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo Small numbers seen on both Sao Miguel and Graciosa [insularum]. Eurasian Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla Common and widespread, especially by voice [gularis]. Goldcrest Regulus regulus We saw this species very well in the forests of Sao Miguel [azoricus]. Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris The local subspecies granti was common and widespread. Common Blackbird Turdus merula The local subspecies azorensis was common and widespread. European Robin Erithacus rubecula Although they seemed to show restricted red, they are apparently nominate subspecies.

The local form of Goldcrest on Sao Miguel and a singing European Robin on Graciosa (Pete Morris)

11 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com House Sparrow Passer domesticus Common and widespread [nominate] Common Waxbill (introduced) Estrilda astrild Plenty seen on the slopes of Pico da Vara and elsewhere on Sao Miguel. Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea Plenty seen [patriciae]. Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs The smart local form was common and seen very well [moreletti]. Azores Bullfinch ◊ murina (VU) Brilliant views of at least 10 on the slopes of Pico da Vara on Sao Miguel. European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis Scattered sightings on both islands visited. Atlantic Canary ◊ Serinus canaria Common with many seen well.

The local form of Common Chaffinch is very distinctive whilst Atlantic Canaries were reasonably numerous (Pete Morris)

12 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com The endemic Azores Noctule flying around in full daylight! (Pete Morris)

MAMMALS European Rabbit (introduced) Oryctolagus cuniculus A couple of sightings. Azorean azoreum An amusing saga that ended well at the swimming pool in Santa Cruz da Graciosa!

A colourful Portuguese Man o’ War (Pete Morris)

13 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com The fabulous architecture on Graciosa (Pete Morris)

14 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com Another view of an Azores Bullfinch, a Cory’s Shearwater in its burrow, and the endemic Azores Butterfly Orchid (Pete Morris)

15 BirdQuest Tour Report: Azores 2021 www.birdquest-tours.com