And finally, some non-avian wildlife that we came across in Madeira. Monarch butterflies have been recorded on Madeira since at least the 1890s. Presumably, these are migrants blown across the Atlantic from North America where they are famous for their migratory feats. A resident population has been established on Madeira and they are common, even in the capital Funchal. One wonders if Madeira may be the source of the occasional record of Monarch in coastal southern England after south westerly gales? All the photographs below were taken in our hotel garden in Funchal:
The Monarchs were fabulous to see and lit up anything that they landed upon:
There were also two small species of blue butterfly in the gardens. Both were fast fliers that always settled with their wings closed and only for a few seconds at a time, so some speed was needed to photograph them. One species was smaller than the other. The smallest was Lang’s Short-tailed Blue. This species has a thin tail protruding from the rear hindwing:
Similar to Lang’s Short-tailed Blue but sightly larger, were Long-tailed Blue butterflies. The vertical pale line on the underwing helped pick them out.
We also came across a single Clouded Yellow in the Botanical Gardens:
Maderian Lizards were everywhere. It was a constant delight to my daughters to see lizards on every wall. The females have dark brown lateral stripes:
Some of the males are bright green:
Not only were they everywhere, but they also ate everything: from cigarette butts to fish and chips to insects, even each other:
The cetaceans around the islands are also easy to see. Even just outside Funchal Harbour there are pods of Short-finned Pilot Whales:
These may be some of the smaller whales, but there is still a lot of whale underwater. Occasionally we got glimpses of more than just the dorsal fin:
Below, adult Short-finned Pilot Whales with a calf, far right:
Bottlenose Dolphins were often seen around the island. One pod played around our boat as we headed out on our final pelagic trip:
These are large beasts. Some males weigh up to 600kgs.
And yes, the sea really is that colour! We only saw a fraction of the island and none of the mountains. Nevertheless, Madeira provided a nice easy family holiday with some great seabirds and a decent selection of other wildlife too.