THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT
Had another great day out at The Petrel Station on the latest pelagic seabird tour out from Tutukaka (in northern New Zealand). Conditions were a smallish swell and steady 10-15 knot winds through most of the tour which dropped right out later in the afternoon.
The highlights of the tour were:
A South Polar Skua which delivered stunning flybys around the boat for about 10 minutes
A Mottled Petrel that briefly visited
A Wilson's Storm Petrel and 30+ New Zealand Storm Petrels
During the tour we saw 22 different seabird species, and over 11,000 seabirds in total. A nice finale to the trifecta of Petrel Station spring migration pelagics that have gone out in the last 3 weekends :)
If you’re interested in coming out to The Petrel Station then check out the upcoming seabird tour dates and get in touch – it’s always a great day out.
Here’s the full tour results from the day:
Seabirds seen:
1 x South Polar Skua
2,500+ x Fairy Prion
1 x Mottled Petrel
60 x Cook's Petrel
5 x Grey-faced Petrel
30 x Black Petrel
65 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
5,000+ x Buller's Shearwater
12 x Sooty Shearwater
2 x Short-tailed Shearwater
80 x Fluttering Shearwater
40 x Little Shearwater
1 x Wilson's Storm-Petrel
32 x New Zealand Storm-Petrel
12 x White-faced Storm-Petrel
1,400+ x Common Diving-Petrel
800 x Australasian Gannet
14 x White-fronted Tern
1,200 x Red-billed Gull
12 x Black Backed Gull
53 x Pied Shag
1 x Little Pied Shag
Learn more about the seabird species seen on this tour:
Albatross • Petrels • Shearwaters • Storm Petrels • Prions • Skuas • Other Seabirds
Other marine life included:
2 x Mako Shark
8 x Common Dolphin