3 Nov 2023
THE PETREL STATION TRIP REPORT
Had another great day out on the latest pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel Station, offshore from Tutukaka (in Northland, New Zealand).
The highlights of the tour were:
2 Chatham Mollymawk
12 Mottled Petrel
6 species of Albatross / Mollymawk
During the trip we saw 25 different seabird species, and enjoyed watching just over 43,000 stunning seabirds in total! See the full trip list below.
Conditions on the day were mostly overcast with spells of rain, 1.5m swell, and strong 15 knot NW winds.
One of the Chatham Mollymawk we saw had a leg band 'H02'. The origin story for this bird, known as 'Snowflake', is that it was transferred as a chick from the 'Pyramid' to 'Point Gap' on mainland Chatham Island (NZ) in 2017, and hasn't been back yet since it fledged, though it will be coming up to breeding age so hopefully will return back soon. The Pyramid is an isolated rock stack island just south of the main Chatham Islands and is the only breeding location for these stunners, so some dedicated conservationists are attempting to establish a second breeding location on the mainland, which is where Snowflake came from.
If you’re interested in coming out to The Petrel Station then check out the upcoming tour dates and get in touch – it’s always a great day out.
Here’s the full trip results from the day:
Seabirds seen:
3 x Northern Royal Albatross
2 x Wandering Albatross (Gibsons)
2 x CHATHAM ALBATROSS
1 x Campbell Mollymawk
8 x Salvin's Mollymawk
22 x White-capped Mollymawk
28,500 x Fairy Prion
192 x Cook's Petrel
12 x Mottled Petrel
21 x Grey-faced Petrel
10 x Black Petrel
11,000 x Buller's Shearwater
1,100 x Fluttering Shearwater
12 x Little Shearwater
7 x Sooty Shearwater
410 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
35 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
17 x White-faced Storm Petrel
1 x Wilson's Storm Petrel
125 x Common Diving Petrel
1 x Little Blue Penguin
1,400 x Australasian Gannet
600 x Red-billed Gull
5 x Black-backed Gull
1 x Pied Shag
Other marine life included:
18 x NZ Fur Seals
1 x Flying Fish