The Azores Winter Trip 2022, Other Wildlife

While scanning for the Swift at the viewpoint over the airfield I had this Vagrant Emperor. The first record for the Azores was as recent as 2019 on Corvo. As far as I know this is the only record since, so one of rarest finds of the trip. It could well coincide with the arrival of the two House Martins and the Pallid Swift candidate. I was doing a bit more investigation into the presumed Pallid. The previous earliest Common Swift record on the Azores was April 1st and Simon Tonkin who is based on the Straits of Gibraltar reported House Martins and Pallid Swift arriving there in the last week. Also James Siddle who was based in Algarve reported that mid-Feb was the typical arrival time for House Martins and the first Pallid Swifts there. Common Swifts generally don't arrive in the Southern Mediterranean until weeks later.   

I had the LED moth trap out one night at Cabo da Praia quarry. The only moth I had was this Pearly Underwing which is resident. Really want to do some more moth trapping out here so will need to come back in high summer when birds are not such a welcomed distraction. 

More Madeiran Wall Lizards- these are numerous on the boardwalk at Cabo da Praia. What sounded like Marsh Frogs are actually Perez's Frogs (Iberian Water Frog) - the Iberian counterpart of Marsh Frog. 

Bermuda Buttercup, Oxalis pes-caprae. This was all over the place. A naturalised South African species. 

Common Broomrape- a lot of this around. A clover parasite. It's not listed for Terceira in Schafer but is on GBIF for the island. 

More Bermuda Buttercup with the new Cabo da Praia mural which is the best wader location on the Azores and hosts a breeding population of Kentish Plover. 

View over the US military base and airfield. 1000 US families used to be based here but now that has been reduced to just over 150 individuals.