20 Nov 2025
THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT
Had an awesome day out on the latest pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel Station, offshore from Tutukaka (in Northland, New Zealand).
Highlights of the tour were:
Huge feeding workups of Fairy Prion (one of approx 75,000 birds!)
Plenty of Albatross throughout the day
5 Spiny-tailed Devil Rays came right up to the boat
In total we recorded just short of 120,000 stunning seabirds, and 27 seabird species (see the full species list below). Conditions on the day were fine, with 3-7 knot winds and a 2.3m swell.
Keen to join us for some unique spring seabird action? Our ‘Spring’ tours are in full swing (with now only a few spaces left on the 11 December 2025 tour), and our ‘Summer’ tours are already filling up too ...Check out our 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 NZ Wandering Albatross (ssp. Gibson's)
42 x White-capped Albatross
1 x Salvin's Albatross
1 x Buller's Albatross
1 x Northern Giant Petrel
115,000 x Fairy Prion
178 x Cook's Petrel
4 x Pycroft's Petrel
1 x Grey-faced Petrel
17 x Black Petrel
142 x Buller's Shearwater
52 x Fluttering Shearwater
5 x Little Shearwater
54 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
6 x Sooty Shearwater
9 x Short-tailed Shearwater
68 x White-faced Storm Petrel
7 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
1 x Wilson's Storm Petrel
325 x Common Diving Petrel
1 x Little Blue Penguin
5 x Grey Noddy
2,300 x Australasian Gannet
1,100 x Red-billed Gull
3 x Black-backed Gull
77 x Pied Shag
1 x Little Pied Shag
Other marine life encountered:
5 x Spiny-tailed Devil Ray
1 x Mako Shark
1 x Bottlenose Dolphin
1 x Common Dolphin
1 x NZ Fur Seal