general - Sunday, April 13, 2008 22:44 - 1 Comment

Birdwatching in Azores

Azores are at the most westerly limit of the Western Palearctic and relating to birds there are a few specialities like the Azores Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina) and the Canary (Serinus canaria) for land birdwatching and some more for seawatching like Bulwer’s Petrels (Bulweria bulwerii), Cory’s Shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea borealis), Macaronesian Shearwaters (Puffinus assimilis), Madeira Storm Petrel (Oceanodroma castro), White-faced Storm-Petrel (Pelagodroma marina)Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus chachinans atlantis) and Roseate Terns (Sterna dougalli). Though the main attraction of Azores avifauna is the North American vagrants, whose observations are growing annually, especially passerines and waterbirds.

The Azores Bullfinch is the only endemic species of this archipelago and due to its endangered habitat . the Laurel Forest - it is also a threatened species. The seeds, flower buds and fleshy fruits of the laurel forest provide food for the 200 to 300 individuals of the critically endangered and rare Azores bullfinch.