WHEN THE OCEAN ERUPTS WITH SEABIRDS
Experience our seabird feeding frenzy workups …
One of nature’s great seabird spectacles
Tutukaka, New Zealand
During spring and summer, the waters offshore from Tutukaka can erupt into huge seabird feeding frenzies, sometimes involving tens of thousands of seabirds — a spectacular wildlife encounter that The Petrel Station seabird tours are famous for and one of New Zealand’s most extraordinary birdwatching experiences.
WHAT’s it like?
The sight and commotion of thousands of seabirds, the constant sound of chattering and wings fluttering, the heady seabird smell hanging in the air, the water boiling and churning with huge schools of fish, and at times the boat gets completely surrounded by seabirds
… all this creating a true sensory overload that our guests often describe as one of the most memorable wildlife and birdwatching spectacles they’ve ever seen.
An exciting part of our spring and summer seabird tours is that, alongside the stunning lineup of seabird species encountered throughout the day, there’s also the chance to experience our huge seabird feeding workups.
These feeding frenzies take place offshore from Tutukaka and the Poor Knights Islands, and often involve tens of thousands of seabirds, and massive schools of fish, all feeding together on the abundant zooplankton near the surface. On exceptional days, the scale can be astonishing, involving well over 100,000 seabirds, with our largest recorded seabird workup reaching around 185,000 birds in a single workup during a seabird tour!
Whether you’re a birdwatcher, wildlife enthusiast, photographer, or simply someone wanting to experience nature at its grandest, this is a spectacle of scale, energy, and sheer visual impact — one of the most exciting offshore wildlife birding experiences in New Zealand.
Why Tutukaka has such large feeding workups
It comes down to a remarkably powerful combination that develops offshore from Tutukaka each spring and summer: huge seabird breeding populations, enormous schools of fish, and highly productive waters rich in zooplankton and baitfish.
Huge seabird breeding populations
One of the main reasons these feeding frenzy workups occur here is the enormous seabird breeding populations on the nearby Poor Knights Islands — the only place in the world where Buller’s Shearwater breeds, and also home to one of New Zealand’s largest Fairy Prion colonies and a healthy breeding population of Fluttering Shearwater. This is a key reason why such large numbers of seabirds can gather offshore to feed.
The Poor Knights Islands are pest-free and surrounded by a marine reserve with extremely healthy fish populations.
How the spectacle unfolds
Zooplankton-driven workups
The seabirds’ spring and summer breeding season coincides with major phytoplankton blooms, which in turn support incredible concentrations of zooplankton in the highly productive waters offshore from Tutukaka, and the greater Hauraki Gulf area. When these rich concentrations gather near the surface, thousands of seabirds and schools of fish feed intensely together in dense workups. these are the main kind of workup that we encounter.
Bait-ball driven workups
Very occasionally, we also encounter bait-ball workups when predatory pelagic fish (marlin, tuna) or marine mammals (dolphins whales) drive small bait fish into huge bait-balls just below the surface. These are highly dynamic feeding frenzies, with seabirds feeding on the surface, gannets plunging from high above, and the water boiling with activity.
Large seabird rafts
When seabirds aren’t actively feeding, or on calmer days, they often settle in huge rafts of thousands of birds spread across the ocean while they wait for their food source to return to the surface. These rafts can stretch for hundreds of metres, and sometimes kilometres, creating an impressive spectacle that shows the sheer scale of seabird life present in this area.
Few places in the world offer the chance to witness such large numbers of seabirds at sea on a single full-day pelagic seabird tour, and it’s one of the reasons why the waters off Tutukaka are such an important seabird hotspot.
The seabirds that drive the spectacle
At the heart of these remarkable feeding workups are just a few key pelagic seabird species occurring in very large numbers and creating the spectacle seen offshore from Tutukaka.
BULLER’S SHEARWATER
The only place in the world where Buller’s Shearwater breeds is on the nearby Poor Knights Islands. It is one of the defining birds of these feeding workups, and huge numbers can gather offshore to feed. Occurs in big numbers: mid September to late March
FAIRY PRION
Fairy Prions are the other major player in the workups and breed on the Poor Knights Islands in one of the largest populations in New Zealand. At times they can appear in astonishing densities feeding intensely on abundant zooplankton. Occurs in big numbers: August to mid January
FLUTTERING SHEARWATER
Fluttering Shearwaters also breed here and, when present in large numbers, can add significantly to the scale and energy of the workups. Can sometimes gather in the thousands: mid September to late March
Other seabirds sometimes present in small numbers are:
Flesh-footed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Albatross, Red-billed Gull, Grey Noddy, and other pelagic seabird species.
When does this happen?
The huge seabird feeding workups that The Petrel Station is famous for take place during spring and summer every year, when rich concentrations of zooplankton gather near the surface and seabirds, together with fish, feed intensely in the area.
SPRING
Spring generally has the biggest and most dramatic workups. This is when all three main seabird species are present and when zooplankton is often at its richest, giving the greatest potential for the largest feeding events, sometimes involving tens of thousands of seabirds.
SUMMER
Summer workups are still very impressive. By mid January, most Fairy Prions have migrated, so the feeding workups and rafts are mostly Buller’s Shearwaters, and sometimes Fluttering Shearwaters get in the mix too. Zooplankton is still plentiful but is more variable.
AUTUMN/WINTER
Outside spring and summer, large feeding frenzies are generally not a feature, although from August onwards Fairy Prion numbers begin building again ahead of the main spring season.
Each season brings other different birding highlights on The Petrel Station seabird tours, which is part of what makes this area so rewarding throughout the year and why no two tours are ever the same.
For an overview of seasonal birdwatching and seabird activity, check out our Seasons page.
Experience this incredible seabird spectacle for yourself. Join The Petrel Station seabird tours from Tutukaka to experience one of New Zealand’s most remarkable offshore wildlife birding spectacles.
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