The different seasons
Tutukaka, New Zealand
Every season offers something special on The Petrel Station seabird tours, with changing species mixes, seasonal movements, and different offshore experiences throughout the year in one of the world’s great seabird hotspots.
SPRING tours
Mid September to end December
[ 25 ] Average species on spring tours
Spring is a super exciting season on The Petrel Station seabird tours, and there is always plenty of activity out on the ocean. All the local breeding seabird species are back in the area in great numbers, including thousands of Buller’s Shearwaters and Fairy Prions, and seeing them packed into the huge feeding workups we are famous for is a truly outstanding wildlife spectacle. New Zealand Storm Petrels are also back in excellent numbers, and looking stunning in their fresh plumage.
Spring is a superb time for an impressive mix of Albatross species, it's also prime migration time for seabirds heading through on the way to their southern ocean breeding areas, and we've had plenty of scarcer vagrant species put in an appearance at this time of year. The delightful Grey Noddy also usually start to return in early December. Together, this makes spring one of the most exciting times of year to experience our rich seabird diversity, and some of the most memorable seabird spectacles of the year.
Here’s what’s been seen in spring on past tours:
Albatross Species
Wandering Albatross, New Zealand Wandering Albatross (ssp. Gibson & Antipodean), Northern Royal Albatross, Southern Royal Albatross*, Chatham Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Indian Yellow-Nosed Albatross*, Salvin's, Black-browed Albatross, Campbell Albatross and Buller’s Albatross
Petrel Species
Cook’s Petrel, Pycroft’s Petrel, Black-winged Petrel, Mottled Petrel, Stejneger’s Petrel*, Gould’s Petrel, White-necked Petrel, Black Petrel, Westland Petrel, White-chinned Petrel, Grey-faced Petrel, White-headed Petrel*, Grey Petrel, Cape Petrel, Northern Giant Petrel and Common Diving Petrel
Shearwater Species
Buller’s Shearwater, Streaked Shearwater*, Little Shearwater, Fluttering Shearwater, Hutton’s Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater and Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Storm Petrel Species
New Zealand Storm Petrel, White-faced, Wilson's Storm Petrel and Black-bellied Storm Petrel
Prion Species
Fairy Prion
Skua Species
South Polar Skua (inc dark morph), Long-tailed Skua, and Arctic Skua
Other Seabird Species
Little Penguin, Australasian Gannet, Grey Noddy (Ternlet), White-fronted Tern, Caspian Tern, Red-billed Gull, Southern Black-backed Gull, Pied Shag, Black Shag, Little Pied Shag and Little Black Shag.
* means a species has only been seen once.
Summer tours
January to March
[ 19 ] Average species on summer tours
Summer is a great season out on The Petrel Station seabird tours, with all the local seabirds around in good numbers, Grey Noddy are back for the season, and impressive numbers of New Zealand Storm Petrels often put on a great show around the boat. Buller’s Shearwaters can gather in the thousands in huge feeding workups or in massive rafts, which is always an incredible birdwatching experience. We can still get the occasional Albatross, although most are back down at their Southern Ocean breeding grounds.
As the ocean warms through summer, there’s the chance of semi-tropical birds making an appearance, such as White-necked Petrel, Kermadec Petrel, Black-winged Petrel or Wedge-tailed Shearwater, and it can also be an interesting season for a wide range of other marine life ... so there’s no telling what could turn up offshore from Tutukaka in summer.
Here’s what’s been seen in summer on past tours:
Albatross Species
Wandering Albatross, New Zealand Wandering Albatross (ssp.Gibson's), Northern Royal Albatross, White-capped Albatross and Buller’s Albatross
Petrel Species
Cook’s Petrel, Pycroft’s Petrel, Black-winged Petrel, White-necked Petrel, Black Petrel, Grey-faced Petrel, Kermadec Petrel and Common Diving Petrel
Shearwater Species
Buller’s Shearwater, Little Shearwater, Fluttering Shearwater, Hutton’s Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater and Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Storm Petrel Species
New Zealand Storm Petrel, White-faced Storm Petrel and Wilson’s Storm Petrel
Prion Species
Fairy Prion
Skua Species
Arctic Skua and Pomarine Skua*
Other Seabird Species
Little Penguin, Australasian Gannet, Grey Noddy (Ternlet), White-fronted Tern, Caspian Tern, Red-billed Gull, Southern Black-backed Gull, Pied Shag, Black Shag, Little Pied Shag and Little Black Shag.
* means a species has only been seen once.
Autumn tours
April to Mid June
[ 22 ] Average species on autumn tours
Autumn is an excellent transition season on The Petrel Station seabird tours. As the weather and ocean cool, a great range of seabirds from the Southern Ocean move north into our area, and we can encounter an impressive diversity of Albatross species. It is also migration time for seabirds heading north, so there is potential for scarcer species passing through.
At the same time, our local summer breeders have departed and are replaced by local winter breeders such as Little Shearwater, Grey-faced Petrel, and Common Diving Petrel, which build in numbers through the season. New Zealand Storm Petrels are still around through autumn in good numbers, and there are usually also still a few Grey Noddy right through to the end of April, adding another nice seasonal highlight to this exciting and changing time of year.
Here’s what’s been seen in autumn on past tours:
Albatross Species
Wandering Albatross, New Zealand Wandering Albatross (ssp. Gibson & Antipodean), Northern Royal Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Campbell Albatross and Buller’s Albatross
Petrel Species
Cook’s Petrel, Mottled Petrel, Black Petrel, Westland Petrel, Grey-faced Petrel, Soft-Plumaged Petrel, Northern Giant Petrel, Cape Petrel and Common Diving Petrel
Shearwater Species
Buller’s Shearwater, Little Shearwater, Fluttering Shearwater, Flesh-footed Shearwater and Sooty Shearwater
Storm Petrel Species
New Zealand Storm Petrel, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, White-faced Storm Petrel and Black-bellied Storm Petrel
Prion Species
Antarctic Prion and Fairy Prion
Skua Species
Brown Skua and Arctic Skua
Other Seabird Species
Little Penguin, Australasian Gannet, Grey Noddy (Ternlet), White-fronted Tern, Caspian Tern, Red-billed Gull, Southern Black-backed Gull, Pied Shag, Black Shag, Little Pied Shag and Little Black Shag.
Winter tours
Mid June to Mid September
[ 18 ] Average species on winter tours
Winter can be a rewarding season on The Petrel Station seabird tours. This is when a diverse range of Albatross species and a mix of southern seabirds, including Brown Skua, can all be in our area, while the local winter-breeding seabirds such as Little Shearwater, Grey-faced Petrel, and Common Diving Petrel are also around in good numbers.
It is also a season that can produce real vagrant surprises. Over the years we have had some excellent winter highlights, including Blue Petrel, Pink-footed Shearwater, four Prion species at once, and Grey-backed Storm Petrel, which shows just how interesting the colder months can be. With local breeders, southern visitors, and the chance of something scarce appearing, winter can be a superb time to be out on the ocean offshore from Tutukaka.
Here’s what’s been seen in winter on past tours:
Albatross Species
Wandering Albatross, New Zealand Wandering Albatross (ssp. Gibson & Antipodean), Northern Royal Albatross, White-capped Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Campbell Albatross, Salvin’s Albatross, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross* and Buller’s Albatross
Petrel Species
Cook’s Petrel, Pycroft’s Petrel, Blue Petrel*, Grey-faced Petrel, Providence Petrel*, Cape Petrel, Soft-Plumaged Petrel, Northern Giant Petrel, Southern Giant Petrel and Common Diving Petrel
Shearwater Species
Buller’s Shearwater, Little Shearwater, Fluttering Shearwater and Pink-footed Shearwater*
Storm Petrel Species
New Zealand Storm Petrel (except Aug), White-faced Storm Petrel and Grey-backed Storm Petrel
Prion Species
Fairy Prion, Antarctic Prion, Broad-billed Prion* and Thin-billed Prion*
Skua Species
Brown Skua
Other Seabird Species
Little Penguin, Australasian Gannet, Arctic Tern*, Red-billed Gull, Southern Black-backed Gull, Pied Shag, Black Shag, Little Pied Shag and Little Black Shag.
* means a species has only been seen once.
Every season has its own strengths
The seabird species mix on The Petrel Station seabird tours can change markedly throughout the year, depending on breeding seasons, migration movements, and ocean conditions.
That seasonal change is one of the great strengths of offshore birding from Tutukaka. Rather than there being one single best time to come out, each season offers its own remarkable seabird experiences – from the huge feeding workups of spring and summer, the always interesting migration periods of spring and autumn, the outstanding Albatross encounters from autumn right through spring, the rich seabird diversity throughout the year, and the chance of scarce vagrant seabirds that can show up at any time of the year.
Naturally, there is no guarantee which species will be seen on any given day, but whenever you come out, The Petrel Station seabird tours let you experience our remarkable diversity of seabirds in one of the world’s great seabird hotspots.
Experience these stunning seabirds for yourself
Join The Petrel Station seabird tours for a memorable day offshore among New Zealand’s extraordinary seabird life.