20 Feb 2021
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 were fine, with a small swell and a very light wind which dropped right off by the end of the day.
The highlights of the tour were:
2 White-naped Petrels – great views of both very close to boat
61 Grey Ternlets
Lots of marine mammals including big pods of Pilot Whales and Oceanic Bottlenose Dolphins cruising together, a large whale and a Fur Seal. We also saw a Hammerhead Shark.
During the tour we saw 18 different seabird species, and enjoyed watching around 9,000 stunning 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:
2 x White-naped Petrel
50 x Cook's Petrel
2 x Pycroft's Petrel
50 x Black Petrel
1 x Sooty Shearwater
20 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
50 x Fluttering Sheawater
8000+ x Buller's Shearwater
6 x Little Shearwater
16 x New Zealand Storm-Petrel
14 x White-faced Storm-Petrel
61 x Grey Ternlet
40 x White-fronted Tern
350 x Australasian Gannet
300 x Silver Gull (Red-billed)
8 x Black-backed Gull
62 x Pied Shag
1 x Little Pied Shag
Other marine life included:
40 x Pilot Whales
35 x Oceanic Bottlenose Dolphins
1 x Large Whale (unidentified)
1 x Fur Seal
1 x Hammerhead Shark