During the summer months it's possible to visit an offshore islet in the form of a sunken volcanic crater. This place is called Vila Franca Islet and it's classified as a Birdlife International Important Bird Area (IBA). IBAs support key bird species, so they are recognised globally important for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity. Vila Franca Islet is frequented by nesting Cory's shearwaters, common terns, ruddy turnstones, black-backed gulls, the occasional Azorean buzzard and some rare winter vagrants like egrets, herons and whimbrels.
Common terns (Sterna hirundo) nesting on Vila Franca Islet
Ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres) having a bath
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) posing
Common tern bringing a fish back to the nest
The volcanic formations of Vila Franca Islet
No comments:
Post a Comment