Portugal Special Protection Area for birds
Maciço Montanhoso Oriental da Ilha da Madeira
69 bird species recorded; the most in August.
Asurnipal · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
23 species in January.24 species in February.37 species in March.35 species in April.39 species in May.42 species in June.42 species in July.49 species in August.43 species in September.39 species in October.38 species in November.31 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
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- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
69 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 69Speciesrecorded more than once
- 18Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 0ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 11,876Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 1,590 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 5Raptors
- 2Owls
- 6Waders
- 14Gulls & seabirds
- 2Ducks & geese
- 2Herons, ibises & grebes
- 26Songbirds
- 12Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 69 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
Owls2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Western Barn OwlTyto alba
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
Waders6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- RedshankTringa totanus
- SanderlingCalidris alba
Gulls & seabirds14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- FreiraPterodroma madeira
- Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
- Manx ShearwaterPuffinus puffinus
- Scopoli's ShearwaterCalonectris diomedea
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Bulwer’s petrelBulweria bulwerii
- Fea's PetrelPterodroma feaeNT
- Great shearwaterPuffinus gravis
- Barolo ShearwaterPuffinus baroli
- Band-rumped Storm PetrelOceanodroma castro
- Roseate TernSterna dougallii
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- White-faced storm petrelPelagodroma marina
- Audubon's ShearwaterPuffinus lherminieri
Ducks & geese2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Cairina moschataCairina moschata
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
Herons, ibises & grebes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
Songbirds26 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Fringilla maderensisFringilla maderensis
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- Madeiran KingletRegulus madeirensis
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- Atlantic CanarySerinus canaria
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Anthus berthelotiiAnthus berthelotii
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Spectacled WarblerSylvia conspicillata
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
- Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
- Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
- Rock SparrowPetronia petronia
- Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild
- Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
- Spanish sparrowPasser hispaniolensis
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
Other birds12 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Plain SwiftApus unicolor
- Trocaz PigeonColumba trocaz
- Red-legged PartridgeAlectoris rufaNT
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Pallid SwiftApus pallidus
- Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
- Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
- Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melba
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- European SwiftApus apus
- CootFulica atra
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in August.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan18°/17°32 mm
- Feb17°/16°38 mm
- Mar17°/16°40 mm
- Apr18°/17°26 mm
- May19°/18°16 mm
- Jun21°/20°8 mm
- Jul22°/21°4 mm
- Aug23°/22°6 mm
- Sep23°/22°18 mm
- Oct22°/21°38 mm
- Nov20°/19°43 mm
- Dec19°/18°45 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Maciço Montanhoso Oriental da Ilha da Madeira.
Protected area in Portugal
Maciço Montanhoso Oriental da Ilha da Madeira is a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive in Portugal, 1,590 m above the sea.
69 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 11,876 open records.
The most recorded are the Fringilla maderensis, the Eurasian Blackbird and the Madeiran Kinglet.
11 species come for the summer, 5 for the winter and 2 only pass through.
The most species are recorded in August.
Get there and watch
- VisitingHours in OpenStreetMap: 24/7Official site↗
- Pico Ruivocampsite · 1.9 km · 19 within 10 km
- Ribeiro Frio Cottageplace to stay · 5.0 km · 75 within 10 km
- Santananearest town · 5.5 km in a straight line
- Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport (FNC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 16 km in a straight lineCar hire at FNC airport (Funchal)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1observation towers within 6 km
- 21marked trails within 4 kmPR 18 - Levada do Rei, PR 9.1 Levada do Caldeirão Verde - Um Caminho para todos, PR 1 - Vereda do Areeiro and 18 more
- 2visitor centres within 6 kmCentro da Freira da Madeira - Doutor Rui Silva, Posto de Turismo
- 61viewpoints within 5 kmPico do Arieiro, Balcões, Eirinha - Pico do Lombo Galêgo and 58 more
- 8car parks within 3 km
- 3restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 19campsites within 10 kmPico Ruivo, Pico das Pedras, Unofficial flat ground suitable to pitch a discreet tent and 16 more
- 75places to stay within 10 kmRibeiro Frio Cottage, Refúgio das Camélias, Residencial do Til and 72 more
- bird hides within 6 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Maciço Montanhoso Oriental da Ilha da Madeira.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas44 mountains within 25 kmAchada do Teixeira1,600 m · 0.2 kmPico Ruivo1,862 m · 1.9 km↗Pico das Torres1,853 m · 2.1 kmPico do Areeiro1,818 m · 3.3 km↗Pico do Cardo430 m · volcano · 11 kmPico das Romeiras436 m · volcano · 12 kmPico Ruivo do Paul1,639 m · 14 kmMorro da Piedade109 m · volcano · 20 km
Coastya3 beaches within 10 kmPraia de São Jorge · 7.6 kmPraia da Alagoa · 9.0 kmPraia da Maiata · 9.6 km
Darkskyas4 dark-sky places within 30 kmPico RuivoBortle 4 · 1.8 kmPico das TorresBortle 4 · 2.1 kmIlhéu MoleBortle 3 · 25 kmIlhéu do FarolBortle 3 · 25 km
Cavernyas2 caves within 20 kmSão Vicente Caves · 12 kmCavalum Caves · 14 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Other places nearby.
Maciço Montanhoso Oriental da Ilha da Madeira
Portugal
- 40Birdyas Score
- 69Species
- 18Migrants
- 0Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q63378435) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 11,876 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Coastya, Darkskyas, Cavernyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit