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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jos Stratford" data-source="post: 3365606" data-attributes="member: 12449">Just a short little trip this time, targeting the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores and, in particular, one of Europe's rarest breeding species, namely the Azores Bullfinch, Priolo in Portuguese. With a world population barely exceeding 150 pairs, all restricted to the fragmented laurel forests on the slopes of mountains at the far eastern end of Sao Miguel, the bird is not only the island's only endemic bird species, but the least common of the meagre 13 species of passerines that breed on Sao Miguel.Reading a number of trip reports, it seemed a little hit and miss regarding success on the Azores Bullfinch, some folk searching for a couple of days without success, others seeing several. So, hoping for a certain degree of luck and relying on good weather, the plan for this three-day visit was to locate the birds as quickly as possible, then spend the remainder of the time exploring the lush green island for stray American birds left over from the previous autumn.Logistics were simple, flying direct from the UK to Ponta Delgado on the outward leg, then via Lisbon on the way back, all flights with Ryan Air. On the island, I rented a car with Ilya Verde, an excellent local car rental company, notable for the very friendly and helpful staff. On route back, I opted to take a ten-hour stop-over in Lisbon, providing me with ample time for fruitful exploration of the nearby Tagus Estuary, not only adding a good assortment of birds from Black-winged Kites to Azure-winged Magpies, but also a surprise find in the form of another American vagrant.</blockquote>

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