SeaEO Tours Lisbon Seabird-Watching

SeaEO Tours runs dedicated offshore seabird-watching trips from the heart of Lisbon, departing by fast RIB from Doca de Santo Amaro — just below the 25th of April Bridge — and heading through the Tagus estuary mouth into the open Atlantic off the Cascais coast. The waters here, where the westernmost point of continental Europe (Cabo da Roca) meets productive cold upwelling currents, concentrate a remarkable diversity of seabirds during the winter months. A marine biologist / ornithologist guides each trip, and chum may be used to draw birds close to the boat. Trips need a minimum of 6 participants to run.

Seabird-watching trips run once or twice a month on weekends from September through June, matching the peak abundance of Atlantic tubenoses and alcids in Portuguese waters. Cory's Shearwater and Scopoli's Shearwater are regular from late summer into autumn; Great Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, and the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater concentrate offshore in winter alongside Northern Gannet in large numbers. European Storm-Petrel and Wilson's Storm-Petrel are recorded during autumn passage. The winter months bring the alcids: Razorbill, Common Guillemot, and Atlantic Puffin are encountered offshore, while Little Auk occurs in some years. Great Skua, Pomarine Jaeger, and Arctic Jaeger pass through on southward migration in October and November.

The city-centre departure point is a distinctive feature of this trip — participants can be at a world-class Atlantic seabird watching location within an hour of leaving the centre of a European capital. SeaEO Tours also runs a shorter Tagus Estuary birdwatching trip from the same dock.