Hutton's Shearwater

Kaikōura tītī is a shearwater that nests high in the Seaward Kaikōura Range, an unusual mountain breeding site for a seabird. It is dark brown above and white below with dusky underwings, a long slender bill and feet projecting beyond the tail; fluttering shearwater is whiter beneath the wing.

The two natural colonies lie high in the Seaward Kaikōura Range, with a translocated colony on the Kaikōura Peninsula; birds feed along the east coast. Adults commute between mountain burrows and sea to deliver fish and krill to one chick.

Hutton’s shearwater is Threatened — Nationally Vulnerable (NZ Threat Classification). Pigs, habitat erosion, light attraction, road strikes and dependence on two alpine colonies create risk. Kaikōura Peninsula and offshore waters are reliable during the breeding season, especially at dawn and dusk.