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PELAGIC TOURS AROUND THE ISLAND OF PICO
The aim of our pelagic tours is to take you into the deep ocean and introduce
you to some of the pelagic life that can be found there.
The emphasis is on finding seabirds,
particularly the enigmatic tubenoses (the petrels and shearwaters) but we will also seek
other marine life such as sea turtles, sunfish, sharks, tunas, big game fish and of course
the cetaceans.
These trips are very exploratory and can be tailored to suite the specific
aims of groups. For example in the summer we can offer special trips out onto the Azores bank
to see the Wilson’s storm petrel (Oceanites oceanicus).
We can also run more general tours
especially targeting events where marine life becomes particularly concentrated such as at
‘bait balls’ where predatory fish and/or dolphins drive shoals of fish near the surface.
These scenarios can be very exciting to watch.
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BIRD WATCHING
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Perhaps the most easily seen seabirds on land are the Yellow-legged gulls
(Larus michahellis atlantis) and terns (both Common terns Sterna hirundo
and Roseate terns Sterna dougallii).
The gulls are year round residents but the terns only come here to breed
in the summer.
At sea the most regularly seen seabird is the Cory’s shearwater
(Calonectris diomedia) or ‘Cagarro’ as it is known locally.
These nest in their thousands around the island. They only return to shore
at night and when they do it is possible to hear their eerie calls virtually
anywhere around the coast.
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OTHER TUBENOSES AND MIGRATORY SPECIES
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Other tubenoses also breed around the local islands and islets but are much more rare,
these include the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus),
Macaronesian shearwater
(Puffinus baroli), Bulwer’s petrel (Bulweria bulwerii),
Madeiran storm petrel (Oceanodroma castro) and Monteiro’s storm petrel
(Oceanodroma monteiroi).
Some species can also be seen on passage migration.
In late summer these include the Great shearwater (Puffinus gravis)
and Wilson’s storm petrel, but in winter and early spring also Leach’s storm petrel
(Oceanodroma leucorhoa).
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UNUSUAL AND RARE SPECIES
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More unusual species and real rarities are also possible such as Sooty shearwater
(Puffinus griseus), Trindade petrel (Pterodroma arminjoniana),
Black-capped petrel (Pterodroma hasitata), Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma cahow),
Feas/Zino’s petrels (Pterodroma feae/madeira) and White-faced storm petrel (Pelagodroma marina).
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It is possible to see other species of seabird outside the breeding season too.
These species include Great skua (Stercorarius skua),
Pomarine skua (Stercorarius pomarinus), Parasitic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus)
and Northern gannet (Sula bassanus) as well as various species of auk and gulls
(both from mainland Europe and North America).
In general the seas around the Azores are not well watched for birds and frankly
almost anything could turn up!
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THE IMPORTANCE OF A KNOWLEDGEABLE TEAM
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The organisation and logistics of our Birdwatching and Pelagic Tours
are taken care by ornithologist Justin Hart. He is the author
of all the pictures published in this page.
Justin has done research on birds for the last 15 years and has a license
for ringing them in both the UK and the Azores.
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JOIN OUR ADVENTURES!
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Do you want to know more about our spectacular Bird Watching and Pelagic Tours?
Do you want to add to it the lifetime experience of meeting the whales and dolphins?
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us!
You may be also interested in the following pages:
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Copyright ©2010 CetaceanWatching Lda -
Madalena do Pico, Açores (Portugal)
Phone/Fax +351 292 622 622 Cell. +351 911 133 658 Skype: cwazores
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