13 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). Conditions on the day were fine, small 0.5m swell, and very light winds.

The highlights of the tour were:

  • 2 Mottled Petrel

  • Huge feeding workups of Fairy Prion (45,000+)

  • Huge volumes of Fluttering Shearwater streaming past – in 10 minutes we recorded 10,000+ !

During the tour we recorded 23 different seabird species, and enjoyed watching nearly 70,000 stunning seabirds in total! See the full tour list below.

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:

  • 2 x Salvin's Mollymawk

  • 1 x White-capped Mollymawk

  • 1 x Northern Giant Petrel

  • 55000+ x Fairy Prion

  • 73 x Cook's Petrel

  • 2 x Pycroft's Petrel

  • 2 x Mottled Petrel

  • 1 x Black Petrel

  • 2,100 x Buller's Shearwater

  • 10,000+ x Fluttering Shearwater

  • 19 x Little Shearwater

  • 51 x Sooty Shearwater

  • 100 x Flesh-footed Shearwater

  • 8 x New Zealand Storm Petrel

  • 18 x White-faced Storm Petrel

  • 1 x Wilson's Storm Petrel

  • 5 x Common Diving Petrel

  • 1350 x Australasian Gannet

  • 900 x Red-billed Gull

  • 8 x Black-backed Gull

  • 51 x Pied Shag

  • 1 x Little Pied Shag

  • 1 x Little Black Shag

Other marine life included:

  • 2 x NZ Fur Seals

  • 25 x Common Dolphin

  • 1 x tiny Blue Shark (approx 50cm)

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