Want to see American birds?
In 2009 (October to November 10th) there were sightings of 231 new true American vagrant birds (according to the Year-list in Birding Azores bird database). Of these 179 where in the category Ducks to Auks, while 52 were "land-birds" (Doves to Troupials). As can be seen from the figures below, the arriving birds were first discovered rather evenly over the period, but most American warblers turned up in the period October 5-23.
   Most small land-birds were discovered on Corvo which was no surprise taking into account the high number of birders there. If you want to chase rarities found by others you may notice (see the table below) that more than half of the small birds were seen over more than just one day (for larger birds the figures are even higher). If you want to find your own rarity you may notice that the chance for this seems better on Flores than on Corvo!

Discovery days for American birds in the autumn of 2009:

Birders and number of new American birds in different islands in the autumn of 2009:

	Birder days	Total birds	Land birds	Birds/birder day	Land birds/birder day
Corvo	443	60	40	0,13	0,09
Flores	73	51	10	0,69	0,14
Terceira	72	45	1	0,62	0,01
S. Miguel	89	47	0	0,53	0
Other 5	28	28	1	1,00	0,03
Total Azores	705	231	52	0,33	0,07

Number of days that rare land bird individuals (Yellow-billed Cuckoo to Baltimore Oriole) were seen in the autumn of 2009:

No of days seen	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9+
No of birds	24	7	4	2	4	1	1	2	7

Corvo or Flores?
Birdwatching on the westernmost Azores islands can be rather hard and frustrating if you want to be in the frontline. The terrain in wooded areas vary from difficult to impossible; steep, muddy, with sharp stones and thorny bushes. Birds disappear easy in the dense trees, light is limited and the rain is unpredictably pouring down. If no new birds turn up you will be rather fed up after walking many miles in hard terrain endlessly rising your bins for yet another Blackcap. But then - within a few minutes - you might spot one, or two, or three ... of some really nice birds.
   While Corvo is like this most of the time - and mostly suitable for those much focused on seeing new birds, the bird watching on Flores could be more varied. Here there is much more possibilities, with a larger spectrum of habitats, new and often very scenic areas to discover, and a large number of tracks to walk. Food and lodging are not as limited as in Corvo, and the chances to discover your own rarity is probably better on the much larger and less birded Flores. If travelling in a group where all are not 100% in for chasing rarities Flores would thus be the obvious choice. More birders on Flores will for certain result in more rare findings there, and you can if necessary, weather permitting, take a boat-trip to Corvo for a day.

Contacts
All observations will normally be updated on the website each day. There will also be special local SMS-groups for "messages on the minute" when there are many birders on one specific island.
   Like in 2009 there will be birders on both Corvo and Flores in October. For more information you can make contact with Peter Alfrey (Corvo) or Staffan Rodebrand (Flores).
   For lodging we suggest contact with Commodore Guesthouse on Corvo, and Aldeia da Cuada, or Argonauta on Flores.
   Note that there is a boat service between Corvo and Flores that runs 3 days a week in September - October. It is also possible to charter boats on other days.

Visitors
We suggest that you establish contact directly to other birders who will visit the Azores during the same period as yourself, and exchanging phone numbers by e-mail. The only reason why we don't wish to add your mobile phone numbers to this webpage is because of it lends itself to abuse by non-birders and companies sending you offers and so on. Also, each e-mail address below is encrypted to avoid SPAM. Just mail us your name, e-mail, and the dates for your visit (if you wish you can add details about which islands you are visiting). If you are in a group one contact address would be enough.

Visitors will be listed below from August onwards: