12 Nov 2023
THE PETREL STATION TRIP REPORT
Had a 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:
Chatham Albatross again (third time this spring)!
More huge feeding workups of Buller's Shearwater (12,000) and Fairy Prion (30,000+)
6 species of Albatross / Mollymawk
The 'Shy-fecta' of the 3 Shy Mollymawk species (Chatham, Salvin's and White-capped) – very uncommon to get to see all 3 together.
During the tour we recorded 27 different seabird species, and enjoyed watching nearly 60,000 stunning seabirds in total! See the full trip list below.
Conditions on the day were fine, easy 1m swell, and mild 10 knot S winds.
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:
1 x Northern Royal Albatross
1 x Antipodean Albatross (Gibsons)
1 x CHATHAM ALBATROSS
1 x Buller's Mollymawk
3 x Salvin's Mollymawk
3 x White-capped Mollymawk
2 x Northern Giant Petrel
41,500 x Fairy Prion
148 x Cook's Petrel
1 x Pycroft's Petrel
2 x Black Petrel
2 x White-chinned Petrel
14,000 x Buller's Shearwater
1,500 x Fluttering Shearwater
1 x Hutton's Shearwater
5 x Little Shearwater
26 x Sooty Shearwater
5 x Short-tailed Shearwater
95 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
10 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
11 x White-faced Storm Petrel
25 x Common Diving Petrel
1,350 x Australasian Gannet
2 x Arctic Skua
1,200 x Red-billed Gull
7 x Black-backed Gull
52 x Pied Shag
Other marine life included:
3 x NZ Fur Seals
6 x Common Dolphin