Unusual seabird records

[Oscar Thomas]

I have been going through old photos and purging the ones I don't need, and in the process have found a couple interesting records.

Mottled petrel off the Interislander (Cook Strait) in April 2018: https://ebird.org/newzealand/checklist/S45117133
Hutton's shearwater off the Rangitoto Ferry (Inner Hauraki Gulf) in Dec 2020: https://ebird.org/newzealand/checklist/S112893319

Both these species don't range very often to these regions, but not quite unusual enough for UBRs to be submitted - There is only one other Mottled petrel record from the Cook Strait on eBird, and very few Hutton's shearwaters from the North Island (let along right in close to Auckland City). The Mottled petrel photo was also taken three years before I thought I saw my first one.
Just shows the importance of looking closely at photos soon after you take them, or going back to ones you were unsure about at the time and having another look!