As they approached Cape St Vincent they were flying almost due south. As they leave the Sagres headland they are flying almost due east. They move through this 90 degree change of course without the slightest hesitation. There is no confusion, no dithering even among unaccompanied juvenile birds which have never passed this way before. On good days, gannets pass within normal eyesight range at a rate of many hundreds an hour.
Sandwich terns, though never in such large numbers, hug the shore more closely.
Puffins and razorbills as well as cory and Balaeric shearwaters pass much farther out and are usually seen only with the aid of binoculars. Experienced birdwatchers may spot the occasional pomarine and arctic skua. They circumnavigate the world with an apparent ease which would have truly astounded Henry the Navigator. The most characteristic land birds of the Cape are black redstarts, spotless starlings, blue rock thrushes, rock doves, jackdaws and the odd breeding pair of peregrine falcons. Alpine accentors are unusual visitors which move about the cliff scree in winter.