Azores pelagic trip: August September 2016

By Josh Jones
Participants: Janne Aalto, Bart Brieffies, Bosse Carlsson, Pierre-Andr Crochet, Brian Gregory, Marc Guyt, Guy
Mirgain, David Monticelli, Heather Pantrey, Hans Ruhde & Hugo Touz

2016 represented the fifth consecutive year that a tour has been run to Graciosa in the August/early September
period. The pelagic trips, around which the tour is based, focus on visiting the Bank of Fortune, a seamount rising to
depths of just a couple of hundred metres, and the aim is always to reach the Bank on as many days as possible.
With warm and settled conditions throughout our week in the Azores we were able to maximise our time spent at
this local hotspot, visiting on each of our three full days on Graciosa.
The tour was an overall success: at sea we enjoyed excellent views of the endemic Monteiros Storm-petrel as well
as managing to see the enigmatic Swinhoes Storm-petrel on two of the three days out at the Bank. There were
many other memorable avian and cetacean encounters. Our participants that visited So Miguel were able to secure
good views of the endemic Azores Bullfinch and although the famous quarry at Cabo da Praia, Terceira, was
relatively quiet during our visit, it nevertheless produced a reasonable selection of Nearctic shorebirds. The nearby
harbour produced an apparent Cabots Tern, potentially the first live record of this subtle taxon for the Western
Palearctic and a clear highlight of the trip if confirmed, while good weather in the hills of interior Terceira ensured
we all got good looks at Azores Grayling, an endemic butterfly.

Sunday 28 August
A split day. Heather, Bart and Brian spent the day touring So Miguel with Gerby Michielsen and recorded Azores
Bullfinch at Serra da Tronqueira. Josh flew to Terceira early to meet up with the rest of the participants, some of
whom had already arrived while others arrived on various flights throughout the day.
Cabo da Praia quarry naturally proved a focal point for the days birding activity and a good range of shorebirds were
recorded including up to five Semipalmated Plovers and juveniles of Semipalmated and Buff-breasted Sandpiper. A
short tour of the island gave us great views of Citrine Forktail (Ischnura hastata) a tiny American damselfly that

maintains its sole European population in the Azores and some great views of Roseate Terns in the harbour at
Angra do Herosmo.
A family part of Long-eared Owls at Paul da Praia was an Azores tick for most of the team, including those with many
visits to the archipelago under their belts. The late-arriving Janne was fortunate enough to see a Glossy Ibis at Paul
da Praia during the evening.
Potential bird of the day was a Sandwich Tern found by Hugo in the evening tern roost at Praia da Vitria fishing
port. European Sandwich Tern (Thalesseus sandvicensis) is an Azores rarity and North American Cabots Tern
(Thalasseus acuflavidus) is yet to be recorded. Detailed analysis of this birds plumage seems to suggest that it may
well be the latter, therefore representing a potential first for the Azores and the first live record for Europe.

Monday 29 August
Several of the group had an early start in the hope that the putative Cabots Tern was still at Praia da Vitria
harbour. Indeed it was, but it seemed to fly off out to sea a short while after 07:30.
Heather, Bart and Brian arrived from So Miguel mid-morning and our tour of Terceira began. We headed up in to
the highland interior of the island, where our first stop was Lagoa do Negro. Here we enjoyed great views of several
of the endemic and Azores Grayling (Hipparchia azorina) as well as a few Long-tailed Blues (Lampides boeticus). The
entire group was able to enjoy further views of the abundant Citrine Forktail around the lakes margins.
A stop at Cabrito Reservoir produced an apparent Mallard x American Black Duck hybrid while nearby conifers gave
us great views of inermis Goldcrest something Bart was particularly happy about!
After lunch in Praia da Vitria we headed round to the harbour to try for the Cabots Tern but, in the middle of the
day, it was no great surprise that the bird wasnt around.
We caught the late afternoon ferry from Terceira to Graciosa, arriving on the latter island late evening. The crossing
brought us three or four breaching Sowerbys Beaked Whales at distance as well as the odd Sooty and Great
Shearwater among the many Corys. Our approach to Graciosa was well timed and we were able to watch several
presumed Monteiros Storm-petrels making their way purposefully towards the colony at Ilhu da Praia in the fading
light of the evening; a single Bulwers Petrel was also seen.
After meeting Rolando at the ferry terminal we enjoyed a late dinner near Praia before retiring to our hotel for some
much needed rest!

Tuesday 30 August
With a scheduled departure time of 10:30 for the first full day pelagic to the Bank of Fortune, there was little need to
rush around in the morning. Those that walked around Santa Gruz recorded typical Azorean species as well as
shorebirds such as Whimbrel and Turnstone, while the long-staying drake Mandarin (of presumed suspect origin)
was still on the small pool in the middle of town.
The weather was perfect very light south-westerly winds and blue skies meant it was a day for sunblock rather
than seasickness pills!
The calm weather gave spectacular vistas of almost mirror-like blue seas at times, and we were also rewarded with
fantastic views of warm-season breeding Monteiros Storm-petrels, usually easily identifiable by their active wing
moult, and a few birds which looked a better fit for the cold-season breeder Grants Storm-petrel. Several of us saw
an all-dark storm-petrel which, on the balance of flight action, size, structure, and colour, we all agreed must have
been a Swinhoes Storm-petrel however it remained frustratingly brief and distant and could not be clinched.
The calm conditions were ideal for cetacean-spotting and we were able to record Bottlenose Dolphins, two Sperm
Whales and, best of all, four Cuvier's Beaked Whales showing brilliantly by the boat as we were heading back to
Graciosa.

Out at the Bank for much of the day, we returned back to Santa Cruz at 20:00 via Praia Islet, where we could not
locate the Sooty Terns seen here annually in recent years. However excellent views of Roseate Terns were a fitting
end to a hugely enjoyable first day at sea.

Wednesday 31 August
The wind had strengthened slightly overnight but otherwise it was another fine day with largely clear skies. Leaving
Praia at 08:30, the plan was to spend another full day at sea.
It was quickly apparent that the increase in wind strength had increased numbers of the larger species, with Great
Shearwaters considerably more numerous than the previous day. The first of two Long-tailed Skuas came to
investigate the boat as we steamed out towards the Bank with a second following shortly after arriving at the
traditional GPS location. This second bird was part of a memorable 15 minutes that also included fantastic views of
the first of two Feas-type Petrels, which performed brilliantly as it circled the boat on a couple of occasions before
powering off to the south.
Storm-petrel numbers had also improved on the previous day with up to a dozen Monteiros at any one time and
three Wilsons seen. Highlight of the day, and a prime target for many of the participants on the tour, was a
Swinhoes Storm-petrel, which appeared in front of the boat at 13:55 and lingered for a couple of minutes.
Thankfully all on board managed to see this rarity, although it never came particularly close to the boat.
Returning to port late afternoon produced another Feas-type Petrel, this time a bird with clearly all-dark underwing
coverts, but another search around Praia Islet again failed to produce any sign of the Sooty Terns.

Thursday 1 September
With the forecast again very calm and sunny, we were able to spend all day at sea. The morning (08:30-14:00) was
spent at the Bank of Fortune before returning to port. Then we enjoyed an evening (17:00-20:00) cruise much closer
to shore.
The conditions resulted in a drop in general activity at the Bank, though storm-petrels were present in decent
numbers throughout the morning and a Swinhoes appeared on and off for at least six minutes at around 11:25.
Three Bulwers Petrels were also seen in addition to the usual mix of Monteiros and Grants Storm-petrels. One of
the highlights, though, was hand-feeding a sardine to a particularly confiding Great Shearwater!
The lack of wind meant swell was minimal, making cetacean-spotting much easier. Several distant blows were likely
Sperm Whales while a super pod of around 25 Striped Dolphins entertained us on the way back to port.
The evening pelagic trip was fairly unproductive for unusual sightings but we were able to hand-feed another Great
Shearwater and got great looks at several large rafts of Corys Shearwaters. Feeding the terns around Praia Islet
again produced no Sooty but compensation came in the form of fantastic views of Roseates trailing the boat.

Friday 2 September
With bad weather forecast to be arriving in the Azores later on Friday we were unable to take a morning boat trip
out of Praia, so instead decided to take an island tour. Though not the richest Azorean island for birding
opportunities, the lack of significant sightings was more than made up for by the impressive scenery and a visit to
the sulphur mines in the islands caldeira.
In the afternoon we headed back to Praia for an extended lunch, while some of the participants scanned Praia Islet
for the Sooty Tern no luck, it seems the lack of breeding taking place this year meant that the adults had already
left.

The evening saw the group say their goodbyes at Graciosa airport as the 2016 pelagic trip came to a close. Some
were destined for another day on Terceira, where they were to find a pleasing influx of shorebirds at Cabo da Praia
on the Saturday, while four of us continued on to So Miguel for our respective onwards journeys.

Pelagic trips 2016: bird list

Please note that all counts are minima. Use of x means species present, but not counted.

Species
Great Shearwater
Corys Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Feas-type Petrel
Monteiros Storm-petrel
Grants Storm-petrel
Wilsons Storm-petrel
Swinhoes Storm-petrel
Bulwers Petrel
Arctic Skua
Pomarine Skua
Long-tailed Skua
Roseate Tern
Common Tern

30 August
20
x
1
20
x
2
3
4

31 August
80
x
20
2
60
x
3
1
2
1
1
2

1 September
30
x

40
x
1
3

List of birds recorded

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata
Common Quail Coturnix coturnix
Corys Shearwater Calonectris diomedea
Great Shearwater Puffinus gravis
Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus
Bulwers Petrel Bulweria bulweri
Feas Petrel Pterodroma feae/deserta
Wilsons Storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus
Monteiros Storm-petrel Oceanodroma
monteiroi
Grants Storm-petrel Oceanodroma castro
granti
Swinhoes Storm-petrel Oceanodroma
monorhis
Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo rothschildi
Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
Coot Fulica atra

19. Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula

20. Semipalmated Plover Charadrius
semipalmatus
21. Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrines
22. Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola
23. Knot Calidris canutus
24. Sanderling Calidris alba
25. Turnstone Arenaria interpres
26. Dunlin Calidris alpine
27. Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
28. Little Stint Calidris minuta
29. Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
30. Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis
31. Ruff Calidris pugnax
32. Common Redshank Tringa tetanus
33. Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa
34. Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
35. Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago
36. Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus
37. Arctic Skua Stercorarius parasiticus
38. Long-tailed Skua Stercorarius longicaudus

39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.

Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Azores Gull Larus michahellis atlantis
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
Cabots Tern Thalasseus acuflavidus
Common Tern Sterna hirundo
Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii
Feral Pigeon Columba livia
Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus azorica
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
Long-eared Owl Asio otus

49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.

Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea patriciae

European Robin Erithacus rubecula
Common Blackbird Turdus merula azorensis
Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla
Goldcrest Regulus regulus azoricus/inermis
Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs moreletti
Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
Canary Serinus canaria

Image gallery

Images 1 & 2: putative Cabots Tern, Praia da Vitria, Terceria, 28-29 August

Image 3: Azores Grayling, Lagoa do Negro, Terceira, 29 August

Image 4: Citrine Forktail with prey, Lagoa do Ginjal, Terceria, 28 August

Image 5: Sowerbys Beaked Whale, Terceira Graciosa ferry, 29 August

Image 6: Bottlenose Dolphin, off Graciosa, 30 August

Image 7: Sperm Whale, off Graciosa, 30 August

Image 8: Cuviers Beaked Whale, off Graciosa, 30 August

Images 9 & 10: Striped Dolphins, off Graciosa, 1 September

Image 11: Wilsons Storm-petrel, off Graciosa, 30 August

Image 12: Swinhoes Storm-petrel, off Graciosa, 1 September

Images 13 & 14: Monteiros Storm-petrels off Graciosa

Image 15: Grants Storm-petrel, off Graciosa, 1 September

Image 16: Feas-type Petrel, off Graciosa, 31 August

Image 17: Feas-type Petrel, off Graciosa, 31 August

Image 18: Sooty Shearwater, off Graciosa, 30 August

Images 19 & 20: Great Shearwaters off Graciosa

Image 21: Corys Shearwater off Graciosa

Image 22: 2016 pelagic team back in port after three successful days at sea!