10 Feb 2025
THE PETREL STATION TRIP REPORT
Had a fantastic summers day out on the latest pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel Station, offshore from Tutukaka (in Northland, New Zealand).
With the warmer waters we start to get to encounter more tropical type seabirds on the tours, with the highlights of the day being:
2 Wedge-tailed Shearwater - very scarce off NZ mainland, so seeing 2 is very special.
3 Black-winged Petrel, 42 Grey Noddy and 4 Pycroft's Petrel
During the tour we recorded 22 different seabird species, and enjoyed watching approx 20,500 stunning seabirds in total! Conditions on the day were overcast, with 5-12 knot winds and a 1.5 m swell. See below for the full list of seabirds recorded on the tour.
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:
1 x Antipodean Albatross (ssp. Gibson's)
1 x Salvin's Albatross
2 x White-capped Albatross
625 x Fairy Prion
107 x Cook's Petrel
4 x Pycroft's Petrel
3 x Black-winged Petrel
48 x Black Petrel
17,500 x Buller's Shearwater
18 x Fluttering Shearwater
2 x Little Shearwater
2 x Wedge-tailed Shearwater
1 x Sooty Shearwater
25 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
28 x White-faced Storm Petrel
8 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
1 x Wilson's Storm Petrel
42 x Grey Ternlet
850 x Australasian Gannet
1,250 x Red-billed Gull
5 x Black-backed Gull
64 x Pied Shag