The islands of Macronesia in the eastern Atlantic Ocean can be divided into four independent groups, namely the country of Cape Verde, the Portuguese islands of Azores and Madeira, and the Spanish Canary Islands. Altogether, these islands are strung out over thousands of kilometres of ocean and this level of isolation from continental Europe and Africa has led to the dramatic evolution of over 25 endemic birds as well as countless endemic subspecies. Sadly, the native forests have been greatly reduced to less than 14% of the original area of Madeira, 10% of Tenerife, and less than 1% of Gran Canaria placing the future of many of these endemics in jeopardy and for this reason alone most are placed on the IUCN Red List.

This unique adventure offers a back-to-back opportunity to search for all of Macronesia’s endemics. Over 26 days, we will traverse diverse mountainous regions, semi-desert scrub, wetlands, and embark on numerous pelagics into the rich waters of the Atlantic. Our journey will begin on Cape Verde, one of the world’s least visited archipelagos. Highlights here may include the endemic Cape Verde and Boyd’s Shearwaters, Fea’s Petrel, Cape Verde Storm Petrel, Cape Verde Buzzard, Cape Verde Swift, Raso Lark, Cape Verde Warbler and Iago Sparrow. Several other endemic forms have been proposed as full species and we hope to encounter the so-called Bourne’s Heron (a subspecies of Purple Heron), Alexander’s and Neglected Kestrels (both subspecies of Common Kestrel), Cape Verde Falcon (a subspecies of Peregrine Falcon), and Cape Verde Owl (a subspecies of Western Barn Owl).

From there, we visit the Canary Islands covering Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. Highlights there will likely include the Bolle’s and Laurel Pigeons, Canary Islands Chiffchaff, Canary Islands Stonechat, and Tenerife Blue, Gran Canaria Blue and Canary Islands Chaffinches. We also hope to see the endemic subspecies of Houbara Bustard, Eurasian Stone-curlew, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Great Grey Shrike, African Blue Tit, Mediterranean Short-toed Lark, Sardinian Warbler, Goldcrest, and Common Linnet all of which constitute potential future splits.

Next, we jet across to Madeira where we will target the three endemic land birds (Trocaz Pigeon, Madeira Chaffinch and Madeira Firecrest), as well as the Zinos’s and Desertas Petrels. Other Macronesian endemics we hope to see include the Plain Swift, Berthelot’s Pipit and Atlantic Canary together with other island forms that have not yet been treated as full species, but which are possible candidates for future splits.

Our tour ultimately ends on the Azores where will target the rare endemic Azores Bullfinch and Azores Chaffinch, along with the breeding-endemic Monteiro’s Storm Petrel. We will also be on the lookout for several Azorean forms which are further candidates for future splits including the endemic subspecies of Common Buzzard, Common Wood Pigeon and Goldcrest.