The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand

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The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand One of the world's best full day pelagic seabird birding tour experiences. ⭐️ Huge seabird diversity with 70 species seen to date.

Also part of a seabird research project. Based out of Tutukaka, Northland, New Zealand The Petrel Station pelagic seabird tours have a well-earned reputation for being one of the best pelagic seabird trips in New Zealand, and globally, for birders to see an incredible diversity of stunning seabirds. Based out of Tutukaka (in Northland, NZ) these tours are any bird watchers dream! So far we've seen 69 seabird species (and 52 of those are tubenose seabirds!). The best way to experience these seabirds is out on the ocean, in their world, so get in touch if you’re keen for a great day out with some stunning seabirds! Here’s just a few reasons why the tours are special:

• Best location, and tour, in the world to see New Zealand Storm Petrel

• An impressive list of specialty local seabirds including Pycroft’s, Cooks and Black Petrel, Little Shearwater and Grey Noddy to name a few

• 24 seabird species breed locally on nearby islands & mainland

• Migrating seabirds pass by in season, & scarce vagrant seabirds turn up as well

• Our latitude (35ºS) is generally as far south as tropical seabirds, and as far north as southern seabirds will range, so we’re in a prime location to see a diverse mix of seabird species over various seasons

• Huge feeding workups of Buller’s Shearwater and Fairy Prion in season

• Every tour out helps towards the at-sea seabird sighting research project

• Exceptionable up close seabird viewing and photo opportunities

• A full day out means lots of time on the water (trips go for 9 to 10 hours)

• Tours go year round, for a wide range of seabirds over the various seasons. FOR MORE INFO

www.thepetrelstation.nz
The Petrel Station's comprehensive website has loads of info about:
– the seabird species, the different seasons and local specialty seabirds
– tour dates, costs and booking details
– what the trips are like, FAQs, past tour reports and seabird image galleries
– the at-sea sighting research project
– private seabird charter tours

07/11/2026

SUNFISH SWIMMING
During spring and summer we'll often encounter these crazy looking Sunfish when we're out on The Petrel Station seabird tours, offshore Tutukaka in Northland.

Sunfish, which are also known as Mola mola, can grow to huge sizes sometimes weighing up to 1,000kg, and are generally found just cruising around out deep wobbling away with their very strange swimming style. We'll often only see the fin sticking out of the water, swaying from side to side, but here's what they look like underwater – always great to see 😁.

www.thepetrelstation.nz

06/11/2026

POSSIBLE LONG-TAILED SKUA TODAY!
We had outstanding close-up views of this stunning potential Long-tailed Skua today out at The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand.

Long-tailed Skuas are pretty scarce off New Zealand, and we're lucky to usually encounter a few during our spring season seabird tours. It's always a real treat to see them — especially when they cruise around giving us close views like this one which hung around for over an hour! (Please note that video is slowed down to 50% speed, to show how graceful they are - at full speed the bird had a more rapid wingbeat).

There's still time to join us offshore this spring, though places are very limited now. Check out our remaining tour dates!

www.thepetrelstation.nz

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT (04.11.26)10 MOTTLED, 17 PYCROFT'S, 355 COOK'S PETRELS!Another excellent day out on the l...
05/11/2026

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT (04.11.26)
10 MOTTLED, 17 PYCROFT'S, 355 COOK'S PETRELS!
Another excellent day out on the latest pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand.

Highlights of the tour were:
- 10 Mottled Petrels
– 17 Pycroft's Petrels (second most ever)
– A very early Grey Noddy
– Over 350 Cook's Petrels!
– Massive numbers of Buller's Shearwaters

In total we recorded just over 68,000 stunning seabirds, and 27 seabird species (see the full species list below). Conditions on the day were a mix rain or overcast, with 10-15 knot winds and a 1.6m swell.

Keen to join us for a unique seabird encounter? Check out our upcoming tour dates and get in touch – It’s always a great day out 😁

www.thepetrelstation.nz

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Here’s the full tour results:
1 x Buller's Albatross
1 x Black-browed Albatross
9 x White-capped Albatross
3 x Northern Giant Petrel
8,750 x Fairy Prion
355 x Cook's Petrel
17 x Pycroft's Petrel
10 x Mottled Petrel
11 x Black Petrel
1 x Grey-faced Petrel
56,000 x Buller's Shearwater
36 x Fluttering Shearwater
1 x Hutton's Shearwater
15 x Little Shearwater
75 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
14 x Sooty Shearwater
28 x White-faced Storm Petrel
18 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
6 x Wilson's Storm Petrel
265 x Common Diving Petrel
1 x Grey Noddy
2,000 x Australasian Gannet
15 x White-fronted Tern
540 x Red-billed Gull
4 x Black-backed Gull
64 x Pied S**g
1 x Little Black S**g

Other marine life encountered:
4 x Common Dolphin
1 x Sunfish
2 x NZ Fur Seal

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OUR EARLIEST GREY NODDY EVER!Today we had our first Grey Noddy arrive for the spring/summer season out at The Petrel Sta...
04/11/2026

OUR EARLIEST GREY NODDY EVER!
Today we had our first Grey Noddy arrive for the spring/summer season out at The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand, which is the earliest we have ever recorded one 😁.

The delightful Grey Noddys will build up in numbers over the next 2 or 3 months as more arrive from way up north and numbers can reach to 100 or more (with 255 the most we've recorded together).

They are one of the specialty seabirds encountered on The Petrel Station seabird tours and we'll be popping in to check on numbers from now on until early May. They are known to visit only a handful of offshore rock stack islands, and our tours are the best place to see them

www.thepetrelstation.nz

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT (01.11.26)121,000 Seabirds --> 28 Species!Had an outstanding spring season day out on The...
03/11/2026

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT (01.11.26)
121,000 Seabirds --> 28 Species!
Had an outstanding spring season day out on The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand.

Highlights of the tour were:
- 2 Mottled Petrel
– 6 Pycroft's petrel
– 3 Wandering Albatross (exulans)
– 5 species of Albatross
– Huge numbers of seabirds through the day

In total we recorded just over 121,00 stunning seabirds, and 28 seabird species (see the full species list below). Conditions on the day were fine, with 5-15 knot winds and a 0.5m swell.

Keen to join us for a unique seabird encounter? Check out our upcoming tour dates and get in touch – It’s always a great day out 😁

www.thepetrelstation.nz

—————————————————————

Here’s the full tour results:
3 x Wandering Albatross
2 x NZ Wandering Albatross (ssp. Gibson's)
1 x Campbell Albatross
1 x Salvin's Albatross
18 x White-capped Albatross
1 x Northern Giant Petrel
54,000 x Fairy Prion
233 x Cook's Petrel
6 x Pycroft's Petrel
2 x Mottled Petrel
7 x Grey-faced Petrel
9 x Black Petrel
63,500 x Buller's Shearwater
760 x Fluttering Shearwater
18 x Little Shearwater
55 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
20 x Sooty Shearwater
1 x Short-tailed Shearwater
48 x White-faced Storm Petrel
5 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
2 x Wilson's Storm Petrel
270 x Common Diving Petrel
1 x Little Blue Penguin
2,100 x Australasian Gannet
195 x Red-billed Gull
6 x Black-backed Gull
67 x Pied S**g
1 x Little Black S**g

Other marine life encountered:
12 x Bottlenose Dolphins
2 x Sunfish
3 x NZ Fur Seal

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02/11/2026

SOOTY SHEARWATER UNDERWATER
It's amazing to see just how effortlessly many seabird species move around underwater - such as this Sooty Shearwater that gave us a fantastic display of it's skills yesterday while we were offshore on The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand.

www.thepetrelstation.nz

2 MOTTLED PETRELS TODAY! We recorded our first Mottled Petrels for our spring season today out at The Petrel Station Sea...
01/11/2026

2 MOTTLED PETRELS TODAY!
We recorded our first Mottled Petrels for our spring season today out at The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand. These absolutely stunning seabirds pass through our waters during migration on the way to their breeding grounds in southern New Zealand, and are always a real treat to encounter.

Only a few spring 2026 tour spaces now remain — if you'd like the chance for a very unique seabird experience, check our upcoming seabird tour dates on our website 😁.

www.thepetrelstation.nz

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT (28 & 29.10.26)2 DAYS -> 112,700 SEABIRDS! -> 28 SPECIESWe just completed 2 awesome days ...
30/10/2026

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT (28 & 29.10.26)
2 DAYS -> 112,700 SEABIRDS! -> 28 SPECIES
We just completed 2 awesome days offshore out with a fantastic bunch of super keen Japanese seabirders who had come over to join us on The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand.

Over the 2 days we recorded 112,700 stunning seabirds (including yet another Chatham Albatross!), and 28 seabird species in total (see the full species list below). Conditions across the 2 days were fine/overcast, with 5-20k knot winds and a 1-1.5m swell.

Keen to join us for a unique seabird encounter? Check out our upcoming tour dates and get in touch – It’s always a great day out 😁

www.thepetrelstation.nz

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Here’s the full list of all seabirds recorded over the 2 days:
1 x Chatham Albatross
2 x Black-browed Albatross
1 x Salvin's Albatross
70 x White-capped Albatross
1 x Northern Giant Petrel
1 x Southern Giant Petrel
58,500 x Fairy Prion
89 x Cook's Petrel
2 x Pycroft's Petrel
4 x Grey-faced Petrel
12 x Black Petrel
44,500 x Buller's Shearwater
2,250 x Fluttering Shearwater
26 x Little Shearwater
99 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
24 x Sooty Shearwater
2 x Short-tailed Shearwater
22 x White-faced Storm Petrel
18 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
5 x Wilson's Storm Petrel
865 x Common Diving Petrel
1 x Little Blue Penguin
4,000 x Australasian Gannet
2,100 x Red-billed Gull
21 x Black-backed Gull
117 x Pied S**g
2 x Little Pied S**g
1 x Little Black S**g

Other marine life encountered:
Common Dolphin
NZ Fur Seal
Flying Fish

28/10/2026

CHATHAM ALBATROSS AGAIN! 💙🍌
Couldn't believe it when another Chatham Albatross turned up today out at The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand!!

This one was having a big fluffing itself up session ... before it came right in to check out my camera. 😁

We've now recorded Chatham Albatross on 4 of our 8 seabird tours this spring — an extraordinary run of encounters with these stunning and scarce seabirds!

Keen for the chance to possibly see one yourself? Check out our spring tour dates and get in touch!

www.thepetrelstation.nz

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT (26.10.26)Had another awesome day out on the latest pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel St...
27/10/2026

THE PETREL STATION TOUR REPORT (26.10.26)
Had another awesome day out on the latest pelagic seabird tour to The Petrel Station Seabird Tours - Tutukaka, New Zealand.

Highlights of the tour were:
- 4 White-chinned Petrels (scarce this far north)
– Huge workups of Fairy Prions
– Humpback Whale

In total we recorded around 101,500 stunning seabirds, and 22 seabird species (see the full species list below). Conditions on the day were fine, with 7-15 knot winds and a 1-1.5 m swell.

Keen for a unique seabird encounter? Check out our upcoming tour dates and get in touch – It’s always a great day out 😁

www.thepetrelstation.nz

—————————————————————

Here’s the full tour results:
3 x NZ Wandering Albatross (ssp Gibson's)
31 x White-capped Albatross
1 x Salvin's Albatross
2 x Northern Giant Petrel
75,000 x Fairy Prion
57 x Cook's Petrel
10 x Black Petrel
4 x White-chinned Petrel
6,250 x Buller's Shearwater
2,750 x Fluttering Shearwater
10 x Little Shearwater
22 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
38 x Sooty Shearwater
22 x White-faced Storm Petrel
15 x New Zealand Storm Petrel
2 x Wilson's Storm Petrel
14,000 x Common Diving Petrel
11 x Little Blue Penguin
2,000 x Australasian Gannet
1,100 x Red-billed Gull
8 x Black-backed Gull
63 x Pied S**g

Other marine life encountered:
1 x Humpback Whale
5 x NZ Fur Seals
1 x Flying Fish

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Tutukaka
Tutukaka

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+6421322324

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