Best of 2025
THE PETREL STATION SEABIRD TOURS 2025
2,300,000 SEABIRDS —> 52 SEABIRD SPECIES !
2025 has been another amazing year of stunning seabird experiences out at The Petrel Station Seabird Tours (offshore Tutukaka, New Zealand). Here’s a collection of some favourite moments and seabirds from the year, along with a few standout stats.
2025 highlights:
52 seabird species recorded
2,300,000 seabirds recorded overall (approx)
180,000 seabirds recorded on a single tour (including a feeding workup of 135,000 seabird!)
8 spring tours each with over 100,000 seabirds
Guests from 41 countries
2025 seabird species breakdown:
9 Albatross species
18 Petrel species (including storm-petrels)
8 Shearwater species
17 other seabird species (Prions, Skuas, Terns, Gannet, Gulls, Shags & Penguin)
We’ve now recorded 69 seabird species on the tours overall (which includes 52 Procellariiformes / tubenose species), highlighting this area as one of the world’s most diverse seabird hotspots. With every tour we're also adding to our at-sea research project by collecting detailed data on the abundance and seasonal patterns of the seabird species found off our coast.
Beyond seabirds, 2025 also delivered an exceptional mix of marine life including Whales, Dolphins, NZ Fur Seals, Marlin, Manta Ray, Spine-tailed Devil Ray, Whale Shark, Great White, Mako, Blue and Bronze Whaler Sharks, Sunfish, Tuna, Flying Fish, and vast schools of Trevally, Kahawai and Blue Mackerel.
A huge thank you to everyone from around the world who joined us this year — it’s always a pleasure sharing our unique seabird experience with such enthusiastic and friendly people.
Special thanks also to a few key people:
Gary Setterfield, a great mate and excellent bird guide with exceptional spotting skills (he's also pretty funny and entertaining too!)
Luke, our brilliant and super-friendly skipper who keeps us safe out there, with his vast ocean experience and incredible marine life knowledge.
Our NZ regulars, who come out multiple times each year — always fantastic to have such a great bunch of seabird-mad mates onboard.
And of course Helga, my lovely wife, who puts up with my overly enthusiastic seabird obsession 😍
Keen to join us in 2026 for a unique seabird encounter? Check out our upcoming seabird tour dates and secure your spot – the best way to experience these stunning seabirds is out on the ocean, in their world. It’s always a great day out 😁.
Have a great festive season everyone — and we can’t wait to kick off another year of incredible seabird encounters at The Petrel Station in 2026 🙂
Cheers Scott
The Petrel Station pelagic seabird tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand
