Best of 2023
THE PETREL STATION SEABIRD TOURS & RESEARCH
2023 has been an amazing year of stunning seabird experiences out at The Petrel Station (offshore from Tutukaka, Northland, New Zealand). So here's a collection of some of my favourite moments captured during the year (see the images below), and some interesting stats as well.
Highlight stats for 2023:
52 --> Total seabird species seen in 2023
1,200,000 --> Approx total seabirds seen in 2023!
3 --> New seabird species for The Petrel Station in 2023 (Streaked Shearwater, Westland Petrel and Southern Royal Albatross)
100+ --> New Zealand Storm Petrels seen off the back of the boat at once!
50,000+ --> Seabirds seen together on several occasions in huge feeding frenzy workups.
32 ––> Number of tours that went out (nearly double from 2022 :).
A Streaked Shearwater was the first live record for NZ.
Launching The Petrel Station website: www.thepetrelstation.nz which has been fantastic for showcasing the stunning seabirds and experiences we encounter
We've now recorded 68 seabird species on the tours (of which 51 of them are tubenose species) which really highlights this area as one of the world's most diverse seabird locations
For seabird species breakdowns in 2023 we had:
9 Albatross species
18 Petrel species (inc Stormies)
9 Shearwater species
16 other seabird species (inc Prions, Skuas, Terns, Gannet, Gulls, Shags and Penguin).
We've also had a great mix of other marine life including Whales, Pilot Whales, Dolphins, Orca, NZ Fur Seals, Manta Ray, Marlin, 4 species of Shark, Sunfish, Flying Fish and huge schools of Trevally.
Thanks a lot to everyone who has come out on The Petrel Station seabird tours this year - it's always a pleasure having you onboard and getting to share this great experience with so many enthusiast and friendly people. And with all the tours going out I'm very excited that we're starting to build up some great detailed at-sea data of which seabirds species are out off our coast throughout the year, and in what quantities, which is all helping establish patterns and will aid in seeing any increase or decrease in numbers over time as well!
And also a special thanks to a few key people. First up is our outstanding skipper Luke who's an all round great guy, and keeps us safe on our journey. Also Gary Setterfield who comes out on nearly every tour and has become an internal part of The Petrel Station team with his knowledge and great spotting skills. And then of course my lovely wife Helga who makes the delectable Ginger Crunch that I bring along on every tour (if you've been out you'll know how delicious it is :)
If you’re interested in coming out on a pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel Station then check out the upcoming tour dates for all of 2024 on our website and get in touch – it’s always a great day out :) And the best way to experience these seabirds is out on the ocean, in their world :)
Have a great festive season everyone, and can't wait to kick off another great year of pelagic seabird tours and experiences in 2024 🙂
