5 Nov 2018

2018SPRINGTOUR REPORT
Written By Scott Brooks

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT

Had a great day out at The Petrel Station on our latest pelagic seabird tour out of Tutukaka (in northern New Zealand). A strong SW wind and some decent swell during the day providing great viewing of a variety of seabirds.

The classic sighting of the day was a pelagic shining cuckoo which did a boat flyby out at the 31 mile mark offshore!

The other highlights of the tour were:

  • 28 New Zealand Storm Petrels

  • 2 Wilson’s Storm Petrels

  • Huge amount of Flesh-footed Shearwaters in close by the boat.

During the trip we saw 24 different seabird species, and just over 2,200 stunning seabirds in total! A fantastic day out.

If you’re interested in coming out to The Petrel Station then check out the upcoming tour dates and get in touch – it’s always a great day out.

Here’s the full tour results from the day:

Seabirds seen:

  • 2 x Wandering Albatross

  • 1 x White-capped Mollymawk

  • 1 x Northern Giant Petrel

  • 3 x Grey-faced Petrel

  • 35 x Cook's Petrel

  • 2 x Pycroft Petrel

  • 7 x Black Petrel

  • 15 x Fairy Prion

  • 120 x Flesh-footed Shearwater

  • 1500(+) x Buller's Shearwater

  • 30 x Little Shearwater

  • 6 x Fluttering Shearwater

  • 1 x Short-tailed Shearwater

  • 2 x Wilson's Storm-Petrel

  • 5 x White-faced Storm-Petrel

  • 28 x New Zealand Storm-Petrel

  • 35 x Common Diving-Petrel

  • 400 x Australasian Gannet

  • 6 x Black-backed Gull

  • 35 x Red-billed Gull

  • 1 x White-fronted Tern

  • 47 x Pied Shag

  • 3 x Little Pied Shag

  • 1 x Little Black Shag

  • 1 x Shining Cuckoo

Other marine life included:

  • 1 x Fur Seal

  • 2 x Blue Shark

  • 1 x Mako Shark

Scott Brooks
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