5 Nov 2018
THE PETREL STATION TRIP REPORT
Had a great day out at The Petrel Station on our latest pelagic seabird trip out of Tutukaka (in northern New Zealand). A strong SW wind and some decent swell during the day providing great viewing of a variety of seabirds.
The classic sighting of the day was a pelagic shining cuckoo which did a boat flyby out at the 31 mile mark offshore!
The other highlights of the trip were:
28 New Zealand Storm Petrels
2 Wilson’s Storm Petrels
Huge amount of Flesh-footed Shearwaters in close by the boat.
During the trip we saw 24 different seabird species, and just over 2,200 stunning seabirds in total! A fantastic day out.
If you’re interested in coming out to The Petrel Station then check out the upcoming trip dates and get in touch – it’s always a great day out.
Here’s the full trip results from the day:
Seabirds seen:
2 x Wandering Albatross
1 x White-capped Mollymawk
1 x Northern Giant Petrel
3 x Grey-faced Petrel
35 x Cook's Petrel
2 x Pycroft Petrel
7 x Black Petrel
15 x Fairy Prion
120 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
1500(+) x Buller's Shearwater
30 x Little Shearwater
6 x Fluttering Shearwater
1 x Short-tailed Shearwater
2 x Wilson's Storm-Petrel
5 x White-faced Storm-Petrel
28 x New Zealand Storm-Petrel
35 x Common Diving-Petrel
400 x Australasian Gannet
6 x Black-backed Gull
35 x Red-billed Gull
1 x White-fronted Tern
47 x Pied Shag
3 x Little Pied Shag
1 x Little Black Shag
1 x Shining Cuckoo
Other marine life included:
1 x Fur Seal
2 x Blue Shark
1 x Mako Shark