Tutukaka Pelagic Results - 2 Nov 2019

[ourspot]

Had another great day out at the 'Petrel Station' on the 2nd November Tutukaka Pelagic Seabird trip with 8 of us venturing out via the Poor Knight Islands to the explore the deep beyond. We had a strong 15-25 knot SW winds throughout most the day, which provided excellent viewing of a variety of stunning seabirds.

Highlights of the trip were:
– 15 New Zealand Storm petrels
– Over 7,500 Fairy Prions! The trip kicked off straight away with the fantastic sight of huge boils ups involving thousands of Fairy Prion (4,000 in one group) and Buller’s Shearwaters and the boat was surrounded with a frenzy of birds for the first hour as we travelled out - amazing!
– A Salvin's Mollymawk (the first one we've had on the trips - not often seen this far up north)

During the trip we saw 21 different seabird species, and over 10,000 seabirds in total! Was a fantastic day out.

Cheers Scott

021 322 324 | scott@ourspot.nz

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Here’s the full trip results:

5 x Wandering Albatross (Gibsons)
1 x Salvin's Mollymawk
6 x White-capped Mollymawk

2 x Southern Giant Petrel

2 x Northern Giant Petrel

8 x Grey-faced Petrel

40 x Cook's Petrel
35 x Black Petrel

7,500+ x Fairy Prion

2,500 x Buller's Shearwater
1 x Sooty Shearwater
25 x Flesh-footed Shearwater
20 x Fluttering Shearwater

25 x Little Shearwater

15 x NZ Storm Petrel

18 x White-faced Storm Petrel

120 x Common Diving Petrel
15 x Gannet

400 x Red-billed Gull

3 x Black-backed Gull

48 x Pied Shag