17 Oct 2024
THE PETREL STATION TRIP REPORT
Had another great spring day out on the latest pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel Station, offshore from Tutukaka (in Northland, New Zealand).
Highlights of the tour were:
175 Cook's Petrel (at least!!)
First Pycroft's Petrel of spring
Southern Giant Petrel again
More big feeding workups of Fairy Prion and Buller's Shearwater
During the tour we recorded 25 different seabird species, and enjoyed watching just over 48,000 stunning seabirds in total! Conditions on the day were overcast, with 15 knot winds throughout the day and a choppy 1.5m swell. See below for the full list of seabirds recorded on the tour.
If you’re interested in coming out on a pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel Station (offshore from Tutukaka, New Zealand) 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:
16 x White-capped Albatross
2 x Salvin's Albatross
1 x Buller's Albatross
1 x Black-browed Albatross
1 x Southern Giant Petrel
36,000 x Fairy Prion
174 x Cook's Petrel
1 x Pycroft's Petrel
44 x Grey-faced Petrel
26 x Black Petrel
9,000 x Buller's Shearwater
425 x Fluttering Shearwater
33 x Little Shearwater
81 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
1 x Sooty Shearwater
4 x White-faced Storm Petrel
20 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
1 x Wilson's Storm Petrel
1,000 x Common Diving Petrel
1 x Little Blue Penguin
1,200 x Australasian Gannet
175 x Red-billed Gull
3 x Black-backed Gull
58 x Pied Shag
1 x Little Black Shag
Other marine life seen:
1 x Mako Shark
3 x Bottlenose Dolphin
9 x NZ Fur Seal