AGM 2019

Date posted: 09-Sep-2019

Our Annual General Meeting was held at 7:30 pm on Monday 23rd September at the F..

More plaudits for Tiritiri Matangi

Date posted: 15-Jul-2019

Recognition of the wonderful experience visitors have when visiting the Island h..

Results of the 2019 Photo Competition

Date posted: 15-Jul-2019

The results of this year's competition have now been decided. Click here (/2019-photo-co..

Lighthouse Open Day

Date posted: 30-Apr-2019

Our historic lighthouse, signal station and diaphonic foghorn will all be on dis..

We need a new Treasurer

Date posted: 08-Apr-2019

The Supporters need a new treasurer to take over in September when Kevin Vaughan..

2019 Concert

Date posted: 05-Feb-2019

OrigiNZ, the tartan taonga are returning for the 2019 concert. Click..

Tiri's three unique foghorns

Date posted: 01-Feb-2019

Our next social event will take place on Monday 18th March when Carl Hayson and ..

Young Conservation Superstars win awards!

Date posted: 27-Jan-2019

Gabriel Barbosa and teacher Kate Asher, a team leader who co..

Entries for the 2019 photo competition

Date posted: 19-Jan-2019

We are now taking entries for the 2019 photographic competition. You can enter u..

Hihi volunteer needed

Date posted: 18-Oct-2018

Would you like to volunteer with the Island's hihi team and learn from them how ..

Northern Giant Petrel

Scientific name:

Macronectes halli

 

 

Conservation status

Native seabird, naturally uncommon

Mainland status:

No breeding colonies on mainland New Zealand

Size:

90 cm, 4.5 kg

Lifespan:

 

Breeding:

Mid-August to February (fledging) 

Diet:

Penguins, squid and fish, dead marine animals 

The northern giant petrel is one of the largest petrels, larger than some albatrosses. Adults are mottled greyish brown with a paler face, a pinkish bill with large tube nostrils. Juveniles are darker and less mottled with yellowish bills. The bill looks almost too large for the size of the bird's head. This, coupled with the pale eye (in adults) gives them what some have described as a rather sinister appearance.

The aggressive males, in particular, have a reputation as voracious predators and scavengers. The prey on penguins and other birds, including albatross chicks and even adult albatrosses. The scavenge on dead penguins, other birds and marine mammals. Females have slightly different feeding habits, focusing on squid, fish and crustaceans taken from thesurface of the sea.

Northern giant petrels occur throughout the circumpolar region and nest on islands in the South Atlantic and southern Indian Ocean as well as on the Chathams, the Antipodes, Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands. The New Zealand breeding population is around 2500. They nest on the surface in a cup-shaped nest of tussock and other vegetation. The females lays one egg in mid-August to early September. The egg hatches after 60 days and the chick fledges at around 112 days old. Birds start to breed at the age of around 10 years.

Tiritiri Matangi is a long way from the giant petrel's breeding grounds, but through winter into early spring they range widely, as far north as 28 degrees south. Giant petrels are occasionally seen from the coastal path on Tiritiri Matangi. One, in August 2011, was seen from the East Coast Track associating with a small fishing boat.


Find out more about the Northern Giant Petrel at New Zealand Birds Online.

Photos: Martin Sanders ©

Reference: Heather, B. and Robertson, H. The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand, Viking 2005.