blog.biosphere-expeditions.org Web excerpt · 2026
“Then we saw the first sperm whale of the expedition, a large male.”
Pico Island Natural Park (Azores)
🇵🇹 Portugal
Macaronesia, Portugal 290 spp. recorded
Pico Nature Park is a Portuguese nature park located on the island of Pico, on the Azores. Created in 2008, it is the largest nature park of the archipelago, occupying 35% of the island plus 74.38 km2 of marine domain.
38.485° N 28.387° W
🦜 Nature
145 Species sighted
17,578 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Jul Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
Recent sightings in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores)
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a dayavg 17 year-round
15
No data
Jan18
No data
Feb21
No data
Mar20
No data
Apr19
No data
May21
No data
Jun24
No data
Jul21
No data
Aug21
No data
Sep23
No data
Oct20
No data
Nov19
No data
DecSighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Posto de Turismo
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Companhia de Cima
-
Tourism Office
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Free
Tourism
High
Typical stay
2–3
daysTrails
Moderate
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
-20°
0° 0
20° 300
40° 600 mm
Jan228Feb140Mar159Apr181May170Jun100Jul72Aug102Sep123Oct184Nov220Dec253
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
2.6
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 237
🐒 Mammals 45
🦎 Reptiles 7
🐸 Amphibians 1
290 Total Species
810 Global average across 340 parks
27 Threatened 4 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.6
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
80% 📊
Coverage (64 species at ≥5% of 290 in the inventory)
22% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (9 bird, 1 reptile, 1 mammal, 1 elasmobranch)
56% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
36 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
20 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
21 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.5
Climate Harsh Low
Entrance Free High
Tourism Medium Medium
Trails Moderate Medium
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
Your review
wildlife-travel.com Web excerpt · 2023
“I saw playful dolphins like common dolphins or bottlenose dolphins.”
nemesisbird.com Web excerpt · 2025
“Iconic species like European Robin, Eurasian Blackbird, and Gray Wagtail, which I had last seen during my February 2018 trip to Spain, proved to be common residents of the parks and gardens in the Azores.”
birdquest-tours.com Web excerpt · 2024
“We saw plenty of these but our target here was to see the Sooty Tern that has been present here for a while.”
Before you go
What animals can you see in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores)?
290 species
Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) has 290 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Eurasian Blackbird (over 90%), Island Canary (about 90%), Yellow-legged Gull (about 90%), Azores Chaffinch (about 90%) and Blackcap (about 80%). Among mammals, the most-seen is Common Dolphin (about 70%); among reptiles, Madeira Lizard (about 80%); among amphibians, Iberian Green Frog (about 40%).
When is the best time to visit Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) for wildlife?
March
In that month the park's 12 most-seen species average about 90% on a given day, against about 70% in August.
Can you see a Common Dolphin in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores)?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Common Dolphin sighting in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) on a given day, based on 64 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May–June and September (about 80%).
Can you see a Bottlenose Dolphin in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores)?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Bottlenose Dolphin sighting in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April and June (about 70%).
Can you see a Sperm Whale in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores)?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Sperm Whale sighting in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) on a given day, based on 323 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is November (about 70%).
Can you see a Eurasian Blackbird in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores)?
Yes
Over 90% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Blackbird sighting in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) on a given day, based on 1,915 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February–August and November (over 90%).
Where in Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Posto de Turismo
The richest sighting zone is around Posto de Turismo, followed by Companhia de Cima and Tourism Office, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) good for wildlife watching?
3.4 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Pico Island Natural Park (Azores) rates 3.4/5: 248th of 340 parks worldwide and 8th in Europe. 24 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
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