23 Oct 2022
THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT
Had another great spring day out at The Petrel Station on our latest pelagic seabird tour out of Tutukaka (in northern New Zealand). Conditions on the day were light winds (10 knots which dropped away in afternoon) and a small swell.
The highlights of the tour were:
2 stunning CHATHAM ALBATROSS - this is now the third year in a row that we’ve had Chatham Albatross turn up on the late October pelagic trips - think they might be a regular now :)
The incredible experience of being surrounded by 50,000+ Fairy Prion and 5,000+ Buller’s Shearwaters busily chomping down on zooplankton and krill during a massive feeding frenzy work up.
During the tour we saw 24 different seabird species, and had a mind-blowing 65,000+ seabirds in total! The full seabird species list is below.
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:
8 x White-capped Albatross
5 x Salvin’s Albatross
2 x CHATHAM ALBATROSS
50,000+ x Fairy Prion
1 x Northern Giant Petrel
45 x Cook’s Petrel
1 x Pycroft's Petrel
1 x White-chinned Petrel
6 x Black Petrel
1 x Cape Petrel
150 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
12,000 x Buller’s Shearwater
2,500 x Fluttering
12 x Sooty Shearwater
35 x Little Shearwater
60 x White-faced Storm-Petrel
8 x New Zealand Storm-Petrel
1 x Wilson’s Storm-Petrel
1,000 x Common Diving Petrel
850 x Australasian Gannet
1 x Arctic Skua
400 x RBG
12 x BBG
51 x 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:
A pod of False Killer Whales (Pseudo Orca) - approx 10 to 15
1 x Pilot Whale which leapt out of water amongst the feeding frenzy!
6 x Fur Seals
2 x Mako Shark
2 x Whale spouts (unidentified)
Some distant dolphins (unidentified)