11 Oct 2025

2025SPRINGTOUR REPORT

11 Oct

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT

180,000+ SEABIRDS!!

Mindblowing day out on the latest seabird tour to The Petrel Station, offshore from Tutukaka (in Northland, New Zealand).

The day kicked off in fantastic style as we headed out for the day and came across a constant stream of thousands and thousands of Fluttering Shearwaters ... so we followed along and ended up at a massive feeding workup of approx 130,000 seabirds!! The sight, the sound and the smell of so many seabirds is an extraordinary experience that simply can't be captured in photos or video. At times we were completely surrounded by seabirds (mostly Fluttering Shearwaters, Buller's Shearwaters and Fairy Prions) that are either busily chomping down on the abundant zooplankton that is present in our area, or soaring in all directions around the boat. It really is a spectacle of nature 😁

After an hour we finally prised ourselves away from the workup spectacle and headed out to deeper waters for several exciting hours with a wide range of stunning seabird species, and then in the afternoon on our return we encountered another massive workup of some 40,000 Fairy Prions!

A truly outstanding day out on the ocean 🙂.

In total we recorded 23 seabird species, and just over 180,000 stunning seabirds! See the full species list below. Conditions on the day were fine, with 10-15 knot winds and a 1m swell.

Keen to join us for some unique spring seabird action? Check out our upcoming seabird tour dates and get in touch – the best way to experience these stunning seabirds is out on the ocean, in their world. It’s always a great day out!