19 Jun 2023
THE PETREL STATION TRIP REPORT
Had a great day out on our 'World Albatross Day' pelagic seabird trip to The Petrel Station, offshore from Tutukaka (in Northland, New Zealand).
Conditions on our first winter trip of the year were fine, with light 5-10 knot N winds, and a 1.2m swell.
The highlights of the trip were:
1 x Soft-plumaged Petrel
Some great feeding work-ups of 15,000+ Fairy Prions!
A school of huge tuna leaping out of the water
During the trip we saw 21 different seabird species, and enjoyed watching nearly 18,000 stunning seabirds in total! See the full trip list below.
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:
2 x Campbell Mollymawk
5 x Black-browed Mollymawk
4 x Buller's Mollymawk
5 x White-capped Mollymawk
2 x Northern Giant Petrel
1 x Southern Giant Petrel
15,500 x Fairy Prion
1 x Soft-plumaged Petrel
1 x Grey-faced Petrel
140 x Fluttering Shearwater
16 x Little Shearwater
1 x Sooty Shearwater
5 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
700 x Common Diving Petrel
1 x Little Blue Penguin
410 x Australasian Gannet
1 x Caspian Tern
1,050 x Red-billed Gull
12 x Black-backed Gull
43 x Pied Shag
2 x Little Black Shag
Other marine life included:
23 x NZ Fur Seals
School of Large Tuna leaping out of the water
1 x Shark