Almodovar Birding Azores Petrels Pelagic

Almodovar Birding's Azores Petrels Pelagic is a dedicated offshore chumming trip led by Hadoram Shirihai — one of the world's foremost seabird experts and author of the definitive field guide to the world's petrels, shearwaters, and albatrosses — departing from Flores Island in the western Azores archipelago into the deep North Atlantic. An optional pickup point at Corvo Island marina serves participants based on tiny Corvo, just 12 km north-east of Flores. The western Azores, positioned on the boundary of the North Atlantic Gyre, sit directly in the migration pathway of some of the most spectacular and sought-after tubenoses in the world, making Flores and Corvo the premier autumn pelagic venue for Pterodroma petrels in the entire eastern Atlantic. Approximately six hours of continuous chumming draws birds in close for prolonged, searchable views from the boat. The October session targets an extraordinary concentration of rare Pterodroma species: Black-capped Petrel (Endangered; one of the rarest petrels in the world, nesting on Hispaniola), Bermuda Petrel or Cahow (Endangered; fewer than 125 pairs survive, making any sighting a major rarity event), Trindade Petrel (a polymorphic and spectacular species from a tiny island south-east of Rio de Janeiro), Desertas/Fea's Petrel (Critically Endangered; breeds Desertas Islands near Madeira), Zino's Petrel (Critically Endangered; fewer than 100 pairs, Madeira montane forests only), and Black-capped Petrel. The storm-petrel suite in October includes Grant's Band-rumped, Monteiro's (endemic Azorean), Swinhoe's (annual vagrant, one of the most reliable sites in the world for this elusive species), and the full Band-rumped Storm-Petrel complex. Regular year-round species include Cory's Shearwater in large numbers, Barolo Shearwater (the small endemic Macaronesian shearwater), Bulwer's Petrel, and Wilson's Storm-Petrel on southward migration. The August session targets Monteiro's Storm-Petrel at its peak breeding season, alongside Grant's Band-rumped Storm-Petrel — a combination possible nowhere else on Earth. Four departure dates are offered each October, with the optimal day selected based on sea and weather conditions. This trip is distinct from the Azores Wildlife Birders Pelagic (migration 0024), which operates from Graciosa Island in the central Azores specifically to Banco da Fortuna; Almodovar Birding operates from the western island group, targeting a different but complementary suite of open-ocean species in different water masses.