Birdwatching on Faial: Cory's shearwaters at dusk, the tern colonies, the Pedro Miguel ponds and SOS Cagarro

If you come to Faial for birds, come for seabirds. Only about 30 species breed in the whole archipelago, but Faial has Cory's shearwaters calling over the cliffs after dark, terns nesting on two volcanic headlands, and a boat trip that can turn up birds you will not see from land. Below is where to go, when, what a guided outing cost when we checked in October 2026, and what to do if you find a young shearwater on the road in October or November.

The cagarro, as Cory's shearwater is called here, is the bird of the Azores. The islands hold about three quarters of the world's breeding population. The birds spend the day at sea and come back to their burrows at night, and the call they make over the colonies is loud, wailing and hard to forget.

The Discover Faial site names three places to hear them at nightfall: Morro de Castelo Branco, Monte da Guia above Porto Pim, and Varadouro. Go on a dry evening between spring and early autumn, park, turn your lights off and wait for it to get properly dark. By day you will see them low over the water from almost any stretch of coast, and in big numbers from a boat. A 2008 survey counted rafts of more than 17,000 birds in the sea around Faial.

The Morro, a trachyte dome on the south coast at Castelo Branco, is a Natura 2000 site and the island's best-known seabird colony. The regional trails site lists Cory's shearwater, common tern, roseate tern and the small Barolo shearwater as nesting there. The roseate tern is the rarer of the two terns, and the 2008 survey put Faial's roughly 25 pairs in one colony, at Capelinhos. Common terns nested at both headlands, about 180 pairs in all.

The PRC05FAI trail is a 3.7 km circuit, easy, with a viewpoint over Capelinhos on the way and a detour out towards the Morro. You can also drive to the car park at the start of the path. Stay on the marked path, because the birds nest on the cliffs. The terns are there from about April to September. A guide to the trails on Faial compares the walk with the island's other short routes.

Capelinhos, the other tern site, is covered in our Capelinhos and Caldeira guide.

Above the village of Pedro Miguel in the east of the island, a group of shallow ponds fills with winter rain and draws ducks and herons stopping on migration. In summer they dry out, so the season runs from September to April. Spring and autumn bring the most species, and the occasional bird from North America: the Naturalist list for Faial includes blue-winged teal, ring-necked duck and pectoral sandpiper. Nothing is guaranteed.

The land birds on Faial are mostly Azorean subspecies of familiar European birds: the Azores chaffinch, the goldcrest, the wood pigeon, the blackbird and the buzzard, which locals call the milhafre. The Atlantic canary, found only on the Macaronesian islands, is on the list too. The 6.8 km circuit around the Caldeira rim (PRC04FAI) runs between 840 and 1,040 metres through juniper, heather and Azorean blueberry, the kind of upland forest and scrub these birds live in. The trails site advises doing it in good weather and visibility, so pick a clear morning.

Naturalist, based at Cais de Santa Cruz in Horta, listed three birding outings on its site when we checked in October 2026. A pelagic trip of 4 to 5 hours on a rigid-hull inflatable leaves at 08:30 between March and October, needs four people and cost EUR 90. A full day on land and coast from 09:00, April to October, needs two people and cost EUR 80. A two-hour night outing to the shearwater colonies starts at 21:00 between April and October, with no price shown. The pelagic trip uses chum to bring in birds, and the possible list includes great and sooty shearwaters, Bulwer's petrel and great skua as well as the local breeders. Prices on the page carry no year, so confirm before you book.

A whale-watching trip from Horta is another way onto the water. The boats are not there for birds, but they work the same waters where the shearwater rafts gather, so in summer you will usually see some.

In autumn the young shearwaters leave their burrows for the first time, at night, and head for the open ocean. Many are confused by street lights and come down on roads and in villages, where they cannot easily take off again. The regional SOS Cagarro campaign has run since 1995. In 2026 it is the 32nd edition and runs from 15 October to 15 November. In 2025 more than 7,500 young birds were picked up across the Azores.

If you drive on Faial after dark during those weeks, slow down near the coast and keep a cardboard box in the car. If you find a bird:

• Cover its head with a towel or a jumper. It will calm down, and it can bite.
• Put it in a box with air holes and close it.
• Call the free SOS Cagarro line, 800 292 800, to ask where to take it.
• If you are told to release it yourself, wait until daylight and pick a calm stretch of sea.

SPEA, the Portuguese bird society, asks everyone to record each encounter on the SOS Cagarro website. On Faial, night rescue patrols have been run by the Observatório do Mar dos Açores in Horta. In 2023 they met at Parque da Alagoa every evening from 23 October to 4 November, and volunteers signed up on 292 292 140. Ask the Observatório for this year's dates.

When is the best time for birdwatching on Faial? April to September for breeding seabirds and terns, September to April for migrants at the Pedro Miguel ponds. Mid-October to mid-November is the SOS Cagarro season.

Where can I hear Cory's shearwaters on Faial? At dusk and after dark at Morro de Castelo Branco, Monte da Guia and Varadouro, from spring to early autumn.

Is there a guided birding trip from Horta? Naturalist in Horta listed pelagic, land and night shearwater outings in October 2026, at EUR 90 and EUR 80 for the first two. Check the current price when you book.

What do I do if I find a young shearwater on the road? Cover its head, put it in a ventilated box and call 800 292 800. Release it only in daylight over a calm sea.

• RTP Açores, the 32nd SOS Cagarro campaign starts (15 October 2026)
• Os Montanheiros, SOS Cagarro 2026 night patrols
• Visit Faial, SOS Cagarro on Faial (2023)
• Terra Azul, what to do with a grounded cagarro
• SPEA, shearwaters and artificial light
• Azores Trails, PRC05FAI Morro de Castelo Branco
• Azores Trails, PRC04FAI Caldeira
• Discover Faial, birdwatching
• Discover Faial, Charcos de Pedro Miguel
• Discover Faial, Morro de Castelo Branco Nature Reserve
• Key Biodiversity Areas, Faial marine site
• Naturalist, bird watching on Faial