Portugal Special Protection Area for birds
Zona Central do Pico - Ilha do Pico
41 bird species recorded; the most in April and from December to January.
Samuel Monteiro Domingues · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
24 species in January.22 species in February.22 species in March.25 species in April.23 species in May.23 species in June.22 species in July.22 species in August.22 species in September.21 species in October.22 species in November.26 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.
NT
VU
NT
VU
NTVU
NT
NT
NTNTNT
NTNTNTNTVU- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
41 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).
- 41Speciesrecorded more than once
- 11Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 10,563Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 1Raptors
- 1Owls
- 8Waders
- 8Gulls & seabirds
- 2Ducks & geese
- 2Herons, ibises & grebes
- 13Songbirds
- 6Other 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 41 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
Owls1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
Waders8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
- Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- Semipalmated PloverCharadrius semipalmatus
- Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
Gulls & seabirds8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
- Scopoli's ShearwaterCalonectris diomedea
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Barolo ShearwaterPuffinus baroli
- Roseate TernSterna dougallii
- Black-legged kittiwakeRissa tridactylaVU
- Great shearwaterPuffinus gravis
- Bridled TernOnychoprion anaethetus
Ducks & geese2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Wood DuckAix sponsa
Herons, ibises & grebes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
Songbirds13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- Atlantic CanarySerinus canaria
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Fringilla morelettiFringilla moreletti
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- GoldcrestRegulus regulus
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
Other birds6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
- Red-legged PartridgeAlectoris rufaNT
- European SwiftApus apus
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 April and from December to January.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan16°/15°84 mm
- Feb16°/14°81 mm
- Mar16°/14°83 mm
- Apr16°/14°64 mm
- May18°/16°62 mm
- Jun20°/18°46 mm
- Jul23°/20°28 mm
- Aug24°/22°33 mm
- Sep23°/21°66 mm
- Oct20°/19°91 mm
- Nov18°/17°71 mm
- Dec17°/15°114 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Zona Central do Pico - Ilha do Pico.
Protected area in Portugal
Zona Central do Pico - Ilha do Pico is a Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive in Portugal.
41 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 10,563 open records.
The most recorded are the House Sparrow, the Blackcap and the Eurasian Blackbird.
5 species come for the summer, 5 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including Black-legged kittiwake.
The most species are recorded in April and from December to January.
Get there and watch
- O Zimbreiroplace to stay · 1.3 km · 9 within 10 km
- Lajesnearest town · 19 km in a straight line
- São Jorge Airport (SJZ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 30 km in a straight lineCar hire at SJZ airport (Velas)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
- 3marked trails within 4 kmPR03PIC Ponta da Ilha, PR18PIC Canadas da Ribeirinha, PRC11PIC Calheta do Nesquim
- 1visitor centres within 6 kmPosto de Informações Turísticas
- 2viewpoints within 5 kmMiradouro Ponta da Ilha
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 2restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 9places to stay within 10 kmO Zimbreiro, Quinta do Basalto, Casa da Altamora and 6 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- campsites within 10 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 Zona Central do Pico - Ilha do Pico.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas60 mountains within 25 kmCabeço do Caminho Escuro · 5.0 kmCabeço da Lambisca · 5.1 kmCabeço da Rochinha · 8.0 kmCabeço do Padre Glória · 11 kmCabeço do Caveiro · 15 kmCabeço da Lavandeira · 23 kmTopo Volcanic Complex · 23 kmCabeço da Serreta · 24 km
Darkskyas5 dark-sky places within 30 kmSão Jorge IslandBortle 1 · 24 kmPico da EsperançaBortle 1 · 26 kmUrzelinaBortle 1 · 29 kmTopo IsletBortle 1 · 29 kmPico IslandBortle 1 · 30 km↗
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Zona Central do Pico - Ilha do Pico
Portugal
- 36Birdyas Score
- 41Species
- 11Migrants
- 1Threatened
Lajes do Pico - Ilha do Pico
Portugal · 19 km
- 65Birdyas Score
- 113Species
- 44Migrants
- 8Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q63378397) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 10,563 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, Darkskyas |
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