Tuesday 16th July saw us picking up our hire car for a day out in the mountains, starting with a drive to Pico De Arieiro, the third highest peak in Madeira and a popular walking area with visitors. The drive up into the mountains was stunning especially when we passed through the clouds to see brilliant blue skies, sunshine and a Dartmoor-esque landscape with a sea of white below. A long-toed pigeon flying across the road was a surprise too on the drive to the Pico car parking area.
The views from the Pico were stunning and despite the crowds it didn't feel too busy as people were easily lost in the landscape.
Pico De Arieiro
There were plenty of butterflies flitting about in the sunshine despite the cool breeze and the 1800+ metres altitude and I found Maderian grayling, Maderian small copper, clouded yellow, long-tailed blue, painted lady and a red admiral species which dashed past too quickly to properly ID but which appeared to lack much white markings indicating that it might have been a Macronesian red admiral.
Madeiran Grayling, Pico de Arieiro
Madeiran Grayling, Pico de Arieiro
Madeiran Grayling, Pico de Arieiro
Madeiran Grayling , Pico de Arieiro
Long-tailed Blue, Pico de Arieiro
Madeiran Small Copper, Pico de Arieiro
Plain swifts were whizzing around and kestrels were soaring overhead with chaffinch and blackbird heard singing on the lower wooded slopes. A feeding family group of spectacled warblers in the low scrub was a surprise but more expected were Berthelot's pipits feeding on the rocky scree. My first canaries of the trip were nice to see too.
Berthelot's Pipit, Pico de Arieiro
Berthelot's Pipit, Pico de Arieiro, Pico de Arieiro
Canary, Pico de Arieiro
We carried onwards to Ribeiro Frio, stopping off to look at the Poco da Neve Ice House along the way with distant views to Funchal below and we also found some Madeiran orchids growing on a verge by the roadside.
Poco da Neve Ice Igloo, Pico de Arieiro
Madeiran Orchid, Pico de Arieiro
Pride of Madeira, Pico de Arieiro
Pride of Madeira, Pico de Arieiro
It was sunny as we arrived at Ribeiro Frio but after tea and cake for lunch in the restaurant there it had clouded over and our walk along the levada was eeriely misty and unfortunately viewless but we still had a fantastic time.
Along the walk I managed to get good views of Madeiran firecrest feeding in the trees including quite a few family groups with the adults busily feeding their young. Robin, blackbird, chaffinch and grey wagtail were also seen but frustratingly I could only hear long-toed pigeons coo-ing in the trees and clattering into flight with just the odd fleetingly misty view of a bird flying over the trees. Eventually we arrived at a viewpoint overlooking the laurel forest and the mist briefly cleared and I was very lucky to get a few decent flight views of 5 or 6 long-toed pigeons over the treetops before the mist returned.
A gap in the mist, Riberio Frio
Driving back to Funchal and again we drove up into the clouds before emerging into brilliant sunshine and stunning views, shame it was misty at Riberio Frio but at least I had seen the long-toed pigeons.
Wednesday 17th July and we decided to go on a whale and dolphin boat trip out of Funchal harbour. There were a variety of companies offering trips from crowded, touristy catamaran trips carrying up to a 100+ people to bumpy rib rides but we chose a small yacht called Gaviao for our excursion, holding a maximum of 20 people but with just 5 of us on our trip. It was a beautiful day but with a choppy-ish sea and a strong breeze and as our 3 hour trip progressed it became apparent that we were unlikely to see any cetaceans. I settled back and was enjoying being out on the waves and watching Cory's shearwaters and Bulwer's petrels passing by close to the boat when our captain called a whale spout behind the boat. The engines were cut and we bobbed around on the water as a large bull sperm whale moved closer and closer towards us, spouting and showing its snout and back before it dived without fluking and disappeared from view - a fantastic sighting.
Sperm Whale off Funchal
Sperm Whale, Funchal
D'Oliveiras Madeira Wine Lodge, Funchal
Mating Monarch, Funchal
Monarch, Funchal
Monarch, Funchal
Thursday 18th July and it was back out in the hire car for a drive along the south and west coast of the island towards Porto Moniz. The usual birds and butterflies were seen - buzzard, kestrel, canary, plain swift, monarch, etc., - and I did manage another brief flight view of a long-toed pigeon over the trees near Paul do Mar. The views along the coast were stunning and the drive from Paul do Mar to Porto Moniz was especially pretty in the sunshine with loads of flowering agapanthus by the roadside and singing blackcaps and blackbirds in the trees. Arriving in Porto Moniz and it was much more developed than when we visited in 1993 but we had a nice wander around and some grilled limpets for lunch before carrying on to Rabacal in the central mountains for another levada walk.
Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus canariensis), Jardim do Mar
Ponta do Sol
The drive from Porto Moniz to Rabacal was very scenic when the mist finally cleared and very reminiscent of Dartmoor with bracken, gorse, broom, foxglove, bramble agapanthus and hydrangea all being seen and singing blackcap, blackbird and chaffinch heard. Rabacal was very busy too with walkers and we had a steep walk down to the waterfall and a steep walk back up again but it was very scenic and I managed to see Madeiran speckled wood with the speckled woods, small white, clouded yellow and Madeiran small copper along with a Madeiran foxglove in flower.
Rabacal Waterfall
Madeiran Speckled Wood (Parage xiphia), Rabacal
Madeiran Speckled Wood, Rabacal
Madeiran Speckled Wood, Rabacal
Madeiran Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas phlaeoides), Rabacal
Clouded Yellow, Rabacal
Madeiran Foxglove
We then walked along a levada circling around the mountainside which was very interesting and with some stunning views before returning to the car to head back to Funchal on another spectacular drive through the mountains.
Rabacal Levada Views
Friday 19th July and our last day was spent around Funchal where the usual wildlife was on show and the next day we flew back to the UK when a 3 hour flight delay was annoying but couldn't detract from what had been a fantastic trip away. I can't wait to return again.
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