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)