WatchList Species Account for Buller’s Shearwater (Puffinus bulleri)

Qualifies for the list as a Rare Yellow List Species

Photo: © George Wallace

Buller’s Shearwater breeds only on Aorangi and Tawhiti Rahi and five other islets and stacks in the Poor Knights Islands of New Zealand. Between 1938 and 1981, after pigs were eradicated from Aorangi, its population there increased from c. 200 to c. 200,000 pairs but it is unclear whether the population there is still increasing. The total numbers are estimated at 2.5 million. It nests in burrows, rock crevices and ledges, often beneath dense vegetation. Long lines and set nets are potential risks for the birds.