West Africa Pelagic (Cape Verde to Madeira)

The West Africa Pelagic is the most ambitious dedicated seabird expedition cruise in the subtropical North Atlantic — an 8-day voyage aboard the ice-strengthened expedition ship MV Plancius, departing from Praia, the capital of Santiago Island in the Cape Verde archipelago, and sailing north-northeast through some of the most species-rich and biologically distinctive seabird waters in the Atlantic Ocean to arrive in Funchal, Madeira. Organised by BirdingBreaks (birdingbreaks.nl) and sold through specialist agents including WildWings, Rockjumper, Warbler Tours, and BirdGuides Travel, the voyage traverses four separate Atlantic seabird zones in sequence — the endemic-rich waters surrounding the Cape Verde archipelago, the immensely productive northwest African upwelling shelf off Mauritania and the Western Sahara, the Selvagem Islands with their extraordinary concentration of nesting Cory's Shearwaters and Bulwer's Petrels, and the deep North Atlantic waters north of Madeira where Zino's Petrel forages offshore. The expedition first ran in 2016 and was revived in May 2026; it represents a once-in-a-decade opportunity to cover the full north-south sweep of North Atlantic endemic seabird diversity in a single voyage.

Cape Verde is the biological core of the expedition. The archipelago, a volcanic chain of ten islands rising from the deep subtropical Atlantic roughly 600 kilometres off the coast of West Africa, holds a remarkable suite of endemic and near-endemic seabirds that are rare or inaccessible anywhere else in the world's oceans. Cape Verde Shearwater (Calonectris edwardsii), the archipelago's signature species, is the most abundant tubenose in these waters: a medium-sized shearwater endemic to Cape Verde with an estimated breeding population of approximately 170,000 pairs scattered across the islands, it is unmistakable in the field by its smaller build, shorter bill, and distinctive plumage compared to the closely related Cory's Shearwater — wheeling in large flocks over the blue subtropical swell in the characteristic arching, banking flight of the genus. Boyd's Shearwater (Puffinus boydi) is another Cape Verde endemic, breeding primarily on the remote islet of Raso and on São Nicolau, a small and fast-flapping shearwater of restricted range encountered in the productive waters around the islands.

The most sought-after species on any Cape Verdean pelagic, and the target that draws the most committed pelagic birding specialists to these waters, is the Cape Verde Petrel (Pterodroma feae), also known as Fea's Petrel. This medium-sized gadfly petrel — named for the Italian explorer Leonardo Fea — breeds in small numbers on the steep volcanic slopes of Fogo and Santo Antão and forages in the surrounding subtropical Atlantic. For decades grouped with the closely related Desertas Petrel (Pterodroma deserta, which breeds on Bugio in the Desertas Islands of Madeira) under the single species name "Fea's Petrel," extensive genetic and morphological work by Hadoram Shirihai and colleagues has now confirmed these as two separate species; the Cape Verde population on Fogo was taxonomically separated and formally described. Pelagic trips from Cape Verdean waters regularly encounter Cape Verde Petrel — typically 10–25 individuals per trip in productive conditions — making this one of the very few locations on Earth where this elusive gadfly petrel can be reliably found at sea. Cape Verde Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates jabejabe) is one of the most recently described new bird species in the world: formally split from the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel complex in 2021 following comprehensive genetic, morphological, and vocal analysis, it breeds on rocky islets around the Cape Verde archipelago and forages in the surrounding subtropical Atlantic, identifiable at sea by its size, flight action, and distinctive call. White-faced Storm-Petrel (Pelagodroma marina hypoleuca), with its extraordinary white face, long yellow-webbed legs dangling in characteristic fashion, and habit of bouncing and hovering at the ocean surface, is a breeding species in the Selvagens and a regular encounter in Cape Verdean waters. Bulwer's Petrel, the all-dark petrel of the Macaronesian islands with its characteristic long, wedge-shaped tail and buoyant, weaving flight, is abundant in these waters during the breeding season.

A zodiac excursion around Ilhéu Raso — the remote, uninhabited islet 50 kilometres northwest of São Nicolau that is one of the most restricted nature reserves in the Atlantic — provides close-range views of breeding seabirds from sea level: Boyd's Shearwater, Red-billed Tropicbird, Brown Booby, and Red-footed Booby all breed on the island's rocky slopes. The Raso Lark (Alauda razae), the Critically Endangered land bird with fewer than 1,000 individuals worldwide and one of the world's rarest larks, is a memorable bonus visible from the zodiac on the island's bare lava plains — a species confined to this single tiny islet and bookable in no other way than a dedicated Cape Verde expedition.

As the MV Plancius departs Cape Verdean waters and heads north through the open Atlantic, the bird composition shifts dramatically. The continental shelf off Mauritania and the Western Sahara is one of the most productive upwelling zones on the planet: the Canary Current system drives cold, nutrient-rich deep water to the surface close to the African coast, sustaining enormous concentrations of fish and the seabirds that follow them northward on migration. Skuas are a defining feature of this section of the voyage: four species — Pomarine, Arctic, Long-tailed, and Great Skua — are seen on virtually every trip; a fifth species is well within reach. Sabine's Gull, the beautiful fork-tailed gull of Arctic breeding colonies and subtropical Atlantic wintering grounds, occurs in impressive aggregations on these shelf waters. Grey Phalarope — the most oceanic of the phalaropes, spinning and picking at the surface in compact flocks on the rich upwelling — gathers in numbers that can reach hundreds per hour of sailing. Northern Gannet, the largest breeding seabird in the North Atlantic, plunge-dives spectacularly throughout the voyage. Sooty, Great, and Cory's Shearwaters add to the diversity as the ship tracks north.

The Selvagem Islands (Ilhas Selvagens) represent the most extraordinary overnight anchorage of the voyage. The main island, Selvagem Grande, is a Portuguese Natural Reserve of the highest protection category — a cluster of rocky, uninhabited islands roughly midway between the Canaries and Madeira that holds one of the largest Cory's Shearwater colonies in the world, along with massive breeding populations of Bulwer's Petrel and Madeiran Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates castro). As the ship lies at anchor offshore, thousands of shearwaters and petrels stream out from their nesting burrows at dusk in an overwhelming display of seabird abundance — an experience of raw pelagic biology unavailable at any other accessible Atlantic location. Desertas Petrel (Pterodroma deserta) — the Madeira-breeding sister species of Cape Verde Petrel, seen elsewhere at sea almost exclusively on dedicated Madeira pelagics — forages in the surrounding waters and is a regular encounter on the Selvagens leg.

As the expedition approaches Madeira and enters the deep North Atlantic waters north of the island, the final target species comes into reach: Zino's Petrel (Pterodroma madeira), one of the rarest breeding seabirds in the world, with a total global population estimated at fewer than 200 individuals confined to nesting burrows on a single stretch of the Madeira highlands above 1,500 metres. After decades of catastrophic decline, intensive conservation work has stabilised the population, but it remains Critically Endangered; dedicated afternoon chumming sessions in the waters north of Madeira are the most reliable method of encountering it at sea, often alongside Desertas Petrel, White-faced Storm-Petrel, and the full complement of Macaronesian tubenoses. The voyage concludes with a morning arrival in Funchal harbour.

The MV Plancius is a 108-passenger ice-strengthened expedition ship operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, configured for small-group wildlife cruises with zodiacs, a lecture lounge, and observation decks optimised for seabird watching. All meals, accommodation, zodiac operations, and on-board lectures and identification sessions by the expert guide team are included in the voyage price. Booking is available through WildWings (wildwings.co.uk/tours/west-africa-pelagic/), Rockjumper, Warbler Tours, and other specialist agents, or directly through BirdingBreaks (birdingbreaks.nl); pre-tour extensions to explore Cape Verde land endemics and post-tour extensions in Madeira are available on request.