The New Zealand storm petrel, thought to be extinct for more than 150 years, has been seen in the Hauraki Gulf and off the Coromandel Peninsula. According to newspaper reports, one of the birds was seen in January and last month (November, 2003) two British ornithologists saw a flock of up to 20 of the birds near Little Barrier Island.
“Off New Zealand you expect to see two other species, the black-bellied and the white-faced storm petrel. But the bird we saw is really distinctive and different. The underparts are white with a black streak, and the feet project further back than the tail.” The ornithologists think the petrels breed on Little and Great Barrier Islands, where there was a sizeable rat population until recent control measures have seen the numbers decline.
Scientific confirmation of the return of the petrel is still awaited. The rare birds committee of the New Zealand Ornithological Society will have to be satisfied the bird, just 20cm long and last seen in 1850, is not a colour variation of a similar species.
The ornithologist, the late W.R.B.Oliver says this storm petrel was first collected off Banks Penisular in 1829 by the Astrolabe Expedition. This specimen is in the Paris Museum. A second specimen was procured in the neighbourhood of Banks Penisular by a Mr. G. Garrick who presented it to the British Museum. A third, also from Banks Peninsular, is in the Paris Museum. However, in Notornis, Volume 51, Part 1, March 2004, it is contested that the two specimens from the Astrolabe were collected off the East Cape rather than Banks Peninsular.
