A Birdwatchers’ Guide to Portugal, the Azores & Madeira Archipelagos: Site Guide

A guide to birdwatching sites in Portugal and offshore islands: this book shows you where to go and when to visit for the best birding experience. This guide is best used alongside your field guide – it does not include information about identifying birds. Portuguese territory goes well beyond Portugal itself; it also comprises the Atlantic archipelagos of Azores and Madeira. Considered in this light, it is a highly diverse area in ornithological terms, holding endemic bird taxa, large populations of seabirds, most of the rarest and sought-after species of southern Europe and many exciting Nearctic vagrants. Add to these prospects the natural hospitality of the Portuguese people, the mild climate, the modern infrastructure plus the excellent food and wine and it is easy to see why the country is one of the most attractive destinations in Europe for the birdwatcher. A Birdwatchers’ Guide to Portugal, the Azores and Madeira Archipelagos is an enlargement of the first edition, published in 1997. Not only has all the information been carefully reviewed and updated but several new sites have been included for mainland Portugal (44 birding sites are now described). The scope of the book has been significantly expanded to include the Azores archipelago with all its rarity hotspots. This is now the first and only birdwatching site guide to cover all of Portugal’s territory. It is a key reference for anyone – from beginner to ornithologist – planning to visit the area with an interest in its birds. This is a site guide, not an identification guide.