Site Report: Madeira Highlands, Portugal

Visits

• 2026-08-18: We went on the trip to the nesting spot of the Zino's Petrel somewhere in the highlands. Walking on the trail to get to the location, I managed to slip and bang my knee. After dark, we could hear the petrels calling from their burrows, and occasionally you could see the ghost of a petrel flying around a distant mountain. One of the people in the group had a thermal scope which was passed around to get clearer looks. In the parking lot, I was able to set up my moth light, but high winds hindered my project in this case.
• 2026-08-19: We drove back up the mountain during the daytime to look for the endemic birds. We arrived at Miradouro dos Balcões, and we found out that prior reservations are required. So, that was annoying. We were able to make a reservation, and we hiked on the still crowded trail to the viewpoint where a bunch of fed chaffinches fly around.

Species Seen

Lifelists

• Europe
• World

Trips