the petrel station team

Tutukaka, New Zealand

With small group sizes of up to 8 people on The Petrel Station tours, there’s no need for a huge team, so it’s...

Scott Brooks

Founder of The Petrel Station and passionate seabird fanatic.

I kicked all this off back in September 2017, and what started as a keen interest in our stunning seabirds has evolved into an in-depth seabird sighting research project, and becoming one of the best pelagic seabird full day tours in New Zealand, and the world ... and with the research already some producing interesting results, I couldn’t be happier.

So here’s what I love about The Petrel Station:

Top of the list has to be the stunning seabirds and what a pleasure it is to enjoy spending time with them in their environment – there’s no other way to experience them apart from getting out there with them. And of course how unpredictable they are – you never really know what’s going to turn up.
Another major for me is the at-sea sightings research project which in a short time has highlighted what an important seabird location this is.
Every tour is different and it’s always a great birding adventure – different seasons, different seabirds, different conditions and different people on every tour always make for a great day out birdwatching.
Seeing the thrill and pleasure people get when they encounter some of the stunning seabirds out on the tours is a real highlight as well. Getting a bunch of like-minded people together is always a treat, and lots of fun as well.
On many tours we get some exceptionally talented birders who join us and their help on board shouting out seabirds as they come in is always greatly appreciated :)

In the past I’ve also organised pelagic seabird expeditions to the 3 Kings Islands, as well as the outstanding Kermadec Islands, which hopefully I’ll do again in the future. Watch this space :)

Gary Setterfield

Fanatical English seabird spotter.

Originally from the UK, I've had a life long passion for birds and in particular seabirds. My love of seabirds started as a 13 year old when I saw my first Sooty shearwater during a seawatch off the Kent coast of England, I still remember the thrill and I was hooked! After that initial encounter, I spent many, many hours as a teenager staring out to sea, counting birds moving and fantasising that a mythical bird like a petrel or albatross would one day cross my field of view … it never happened.

Fast forward 40 years and after raising a family, having a successful career and living in New Zealand for 20 of those years, I found myself with time on my hands so I decided to start birding again. Being a seabird enthusiast/lunatic, a tour out to The Petrel Station was a must … and after just a single tour, my passion was reignited and I was hooked again! The big difference was this time I DID see petrels and albatross (and lots of them!).

I've been on the majority of tours since that first one in 2022 and because I’m such a crap photographer I tend to be the spotter onboard helping Scott in picking out and counting the various species and helping the guests onboard with their target species.

I love meeting people, I love seabirds and I love tricky ID species so a day on the water with The Petrel Station tours and being part of the seabird research is a day in heaven for me !

Luke Nobilo, & his boat ‘Hookie’

Our very experienced, extremely capable skipper.

With over two decades of hands-on experience running charter boats in some of New Zealand’s most challenging locations (3 Kings Islands, Ranfurly Banks and the South Island’s west coast), we’re in safe expert hands and Luke always looks after us throughout the tour.

And he’s a great spotter as well, sometimes picking up seabirds before all the birders on board! But get him talking about fishing and he’ll go on all day :)

The boat we use has fantastic all round viewing for exceptional seabird spotting and photography opportunities.

When we’ve stopped motoring you can walk completely around the boat so you can easily see and track the seabirds as they fly around us, so less seabirds are missed.

The boat is 30.5 feet long x 10 feet wide, and fairly stable – we also use a sea anchor (sea parachute) which stabilises the boat further when we are out over deep water. The boat is not high off the water so the seabirds are often within metres of us, either flying around or settled on the water next to us. There’s also 1 metre high sides all around the boat which are perfect to lean against for stability and when taking photos.

The boat is pretty basic in terms of facilities. For seating there are a couple of benches and a few big cooler bins (so there can be a bit of standing involved). There’s a small private marine toilet onboard as well. An overhead canopy offers great shade when it's sunny, and there's pull down plastic sides to shelter behind if the weather gets a bit wet. Lifejackets are available for all onboard.

Gary, Luke and myself are all very easy-going, friendly people who work hard to make sure everyone who comes out on The Petrel Station tours has an amazing seabird birding experience.