Family

Shearwaters and Petrels

Procellariidae

35 species in our catalog · found in 45 parks

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderProcellariiformes (Tubenoses)
FamilyProcellariidae (Shearwaters and Petrels)

Species in this group

Fulmarus glacialis

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

Macronectes giganteus

Daily sighting probability ~70% · Very likely

Puffinus subalaris

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

Pterodroma phaeopygia

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Macronectes halli

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Puffinus griseus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Puffinus tenuirostris

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Puffinus pacificus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Bulweria bulwerii

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Procellaria aequinoctialis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Puffinus creatopus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pterodroma externa

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus opisthomelas

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pterodroma cookii

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Daption capense

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Calonectris leucomelas

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus puffinus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Fulmarus glacialoides

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus gavia

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus carneipes

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pseudobulweria rostrata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus gravis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus bulleri

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus huttoni

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pterodroma inexpectata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pachyptila turtur

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Procellaria westlandica

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pachyptila vittata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus yelkouan

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Calonectris diomedea

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Puffinus lherminieri

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pterodroma mollis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pachyptila desolata

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pterodroma macroptera

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Procellaria parkinsoni

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

See all 35 species Show fewer

Daily sighting probability by month

Probability-weighted average across the group's species

~30%

Jan

~30%

Feb

~40%

Mar

~30%

Apr

~30%

May

~30%

Jun

~40%

Jul

~40%

Aug

~40%

Sep

~30%

Oct

~20%

Nov

~30%

Dec

When they're spotted

When the group's species are recorded (aggregated)

Where to see Shearwaters and Petrels

Warmer areas are where this group is recorded most often. Our parks Our cities In captivity: 5 zoos & centres

Parks Ranked

#	Park	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	Svalbard	🇳🇴 Norway	1 of 35	~80%
	Northern Fulmar			~80%
2	Península Valdés	🇦🇷 Argentina	5 of 35	~80%
	Southern Giant Petrel			~70%
	Northern Giant Petrel			~20%
	Sooty Shearwater			~10%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
	Great Shearwater			<5%
3	Vatnajokull National Park	🇮🇸 Iceland	1 of 35	~60%
	Northern Fulmar			~60%
4	Galápagos Islands	🇪🇨 Ecuador	7 of 35	~60%
	Galápagos Shearwater			~50%
	Galápagos Petrel			~20%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Cape Petrel			<5%
	Parkinson's Petrel			<5%
5	Cabo Pulmo National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	6 of 35	~30%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Juan Fernández Petrel			<5%
	Black-vented Shearwater			<5%
	Cook's Petrel			<5%
6	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	5 of 35	~30%
	Galápagos Shearwater			~10%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			~10%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Tahiti Petrel			<5%
7	Kenai Fjords National Park	🇺🇸 United States	4 of 35	~30%
	Sooty Shearwater			~20%
	Northern Fulmar			~10%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
8	Rakiura National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	10 of 35	~20%
	Sooty Shearwater			~10%
	Cape Petrel			<5%
	Northern Giant Petrel			<5%
	Mottled Petrel			<5%
	Cook's Petrel			<5%
	White-chinned Petrel			<5%
	Fairy Prion			<5%
	Westland Petrel			<5%
	Broad-billed Prion			<5%
	Southern Giant Petrel			<5%
9	Tierra del Fuego National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	4 of 35	~20%
	Southern Giant Petrel			~20%
	Southern Fulmar			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Giant Petrel			<5%
10	Fiordland National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	8 of 35	~10%
	Sooty Shearwater			~10%
	Buller's Shearwater			<5%
	White-chinned Petrel			<5%
	Northern Giant Petrel			<5%
	Cape Petrel			<5%
	Cook's Petrel			<5%
	Westland Petrel			<5%
	Mottled Petrel			<5%
11	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	12 of 35	~10%
	White-chinned Petrel			~10%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Giant Petrel			<5%
	Southern Giant Petrel			<5%
	Great Shearwater			<5%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
	Soft-plumaged Petrel			<5%
	Antarctic Prion			<5%
	Cape Petrel			<5%
	Southern Fulmar			<5%
	Great-winged Petrel			<5%
	Scopoli's Shearwater			<5%
12	Machalilla National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	3 of 35	~10%
	Sooty Shearwater			~10%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Galápagos Petrel			<5%
13	Ningaloo Marine Park	🇦🇺 Australia	3 of 35	~10%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			~10%
	Flesh-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Hutton's Shearwater			<5%
14	Freycinet National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 35	~10%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			~10%
15	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	4 of 35	~10%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Black-vented Shearwater			<5%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Fulmar			<5%
16	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	7 of 35	~10%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Fulmar			<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
	Buller's Shearwater			<5%
	Flesh-footed Shearwater			<5%
17	Isla del Coco National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 35	~10%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			~10%
18	Raja Ampat	🇮🇩 Indonesia	3 of 35	~10%
	Streaked Shearwater			<5%
	Bulwer's Petrel			<5%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			<5%
19	Rottnest Island	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 35	~10%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			~10%
20	Komodo National Park	🇮🇩 Indonesia	1 of 35	~10%
	Bulwer's Petrel			~10%
21	Wilsons Promontory National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 35	~10%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			~10%
22	Olympic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	4 of 35	~10%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Fulmar			<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
23	Great Otway National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 35	<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Fluttering Shearwater			<5%
24	Royal National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	3 of 35	<5%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Giant Petrel			<5%
25	De Hoop Nature Reserve	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 35	<5%
	White-chinned Petrel			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
26	Abel Tasman National Park	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1 of 35	<5%
	Fluttering Shearwater			<5%
27	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 35	<5%
	Black-vented Shearwater			<5%
28	Maria Island National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 35	<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
29	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	4 of 35	<5%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Galápagos Shearwater			<5%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Tahiti Petrel			<5%
30	West Coast National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 35	<5%
	White-chinned Petrel			<5%
	Northern Giant Petrel			<5%
31	Acadia National Park	🇺🇸 United States	4 of 35	<5%
	Great Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Fulmar			<5%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
32	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 35	<5%
	White-chinned Petrel			<5%
	Southern Giant Petrel			<5%
33	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	2 of 35	<5%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
34	Wadden Sea National Park	🇩🇪 Germany	3 of 35	<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Fulmar			<5%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
35	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	1 of 35	<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
36	Snowdonia National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1 of 35	<5%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
37	iSimangaliso Wetland Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 35	<5%
	White-chinned Petrel			<5%
38	Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge	🇺🇸 United States	4 of 35	<5%
	Great Shearwater			<5%
	Scopoli's Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Audubon's Shearwater			<5%
39	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 35	<5%
	Galápagos Shearwater			<5%
40	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 35	<5%
	Black-vented Shearwater			<5%
41	Camargue	🇫🇷 France	1 of 35	<5%
	Yelkouan Shearwater			<5%
42	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	2 of 35	<5%
	Audubon's Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
43	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	1 of 35	<5%
	Scopoli's Shearwater			<5%
44	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	1 of 35	<5%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			<5%
45	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	2 of 35	<5%
	Audubon's Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%

Cities Ranked

#	City	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	Dakar	🇸🇳 Senegal	4 of 35	~40%
	Sooty Shearwater			~30%
	Manx Shearwater			~20%
	Great Shearwater			~10%
	Bulwer's Petrel			<5%
2	Busan	🇰🇷 South Korea	1 of 35	~10%
	Streaked Shearwater			~10%
3	Istanbul	🇹🇷 Turkey	1 of 35	~10%
	Yelkouan Shearwater			~10%
4	Dublin	🇮🇪 Ireland	2 of 35	<5%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Fulmar			<5%
5	Athens	🇬🇷 Greece	2 of 35	<5%
	Scopoli's Shearwater			<5%
	Yelkouan Shearwater			<5%
6	Montevideo	🇺🇾 Uruguay	3 of 35	<5%
	Southern Giant Petrel			<5%
	White-chinned Petrel			<5%
	Northern Giant Petrel			<5%
7	San Diego	🇺🇸 United States	6 of 35	<5%
	Black-vented Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Fulmar			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Buller's Shearwater			<5%
8	Tel Aviv	🇮🇱 Israel	3 of 35	<5%
	Yelkouan Shearwater			<5%
	Scopoli's Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
9	Sydney	🇦🇺 Australia	9 of 35	<5%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
	Fluttering Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Great-winged Petrel			<5%
	Flesh-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Hutton's Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Giant Petrel			<5%
	Fairy Prion			<5%
10	Naples	🇮🇹 Italy	1 of 35	<5%
	Yelkouan Shearwater			<5%
11	Nagoya	🇯🇵 Japan	1 of 35	<5%
	Streaked Shearwater			<5%
12	Lima	🇵🇪 Peru	1 of 35	<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
13	Auckland	🇳🇿 New Zealand	3 of 35	<5%
	Fluttering Shearwater			<5%
	Flesh-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Buller's Shearwater			<5%
14	Barcelona	🇪🇸 Spain	2 of 35	<5%
	Yelkouan Shearwater			<5%
	Scopoli's Shearwater			<5%
15	Boston	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 35	<5%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
16	Tokyo	🇯🇵 Japan	2 of 35	<5%
	Streaked Shearwater			<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
17	Los Angeles	🇺🇸 United States	4 of 35	<5%
	Black-vented Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Pink-footed Shearwater			<5%
	Northern Fulmar			<5%
18	Miami	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 35	<5%
	Scopoli's Shearwater			<5%
	Audubon's Shearwater			<5%
	Great Shearwater			<5%
19	Melbourne	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 35	<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
20	San Francisco	🇺🇸 United States	1 of 35	<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
21	Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	1 of 35	<5%
	Wedge-tailed Shearwater			<5%
22	Seattle	🇺🇸 United States	3 of 35	<5%
	Manx Shearwater			<5%
	Sooty Shearwater			<5%
	Short-tailed Shearwater			<5%
23	Lisbon	🇵🇹 Portugal	1 of 35	<5%
	Scopoli's Shearwater			<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	Sea Life Park Hawaii	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
2	Willowbank Wildlife Reserve	🇳🇿 New Zealand	In captivity
3	Zoológico de Concepción	🇨🇱 Chile	In captivity
4	Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society	🇨🇦 Canada	In captivity
5	Nordsøen Oceanarium	🇩🇰 Denmark	In captivity

Shearwaters and Petrels

Species in this group

Northern Fulmar

Southern Giant Petrel

Galápagos Shearwater

Galápagos Petrel

Northern Giant Petrel

Sooty Shearwater

Short-tailed Shearwater

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Bulwer's Petrel

White-chinned Petrel

Pink-footed Shearwater

Juan Fernández Petrel

Black-vented Shearwater

Cook's Petrel

Cape Petrel

Streaked Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

Southern Fulmar

Fluttering Shearwater

Flesh-footed Shearwater

Tahiti Petrel

Great Shearwater

Buller's Shearwater

Hutton's Shearwater

Mottled Petrel

Fairy Prion

Westland Petrel

Broad-billed Prion

Yelkouan Shearwater

Scopoli's Shearwater

Audubon's Shearwater

Soft-plumaged Petrel

Antarctic Prion

Great-winged Petrel

Parkinson's Petrel

Daily sighting probability by month

When they're spotted

Where to see Shearwaters and Petrels

Parks Ranked

Cities Ranked

Zoos & Centres Where Found