A Tāmaki Makaurau bird rehabilitation centre is asking people to be on the lookout for seabirds where they wouldn't normally be: in the backyard.
Auckland's long, warm summer means Cook's petrels are taking to the skies sooner than usual, and they're getting a bit lost.
The little battlers are receiving some much-needed R&R at BirdCare Aotearoa in Green Bay. Their long journey has taken an unexpected detour.
"It could be days, to even a couple of weeks, depending on what's going on. And of course, that means a lot of nursing care," says BirdCare general manager Lynn Miller.
Cook's petrels breed on the Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf, as well as Codfish Island, near Rakiura / Stewart Island.
Once they take flight, they'll stay out at sea, covering tens of thousands of kilometres before returning to where they were born to nest.
But sometimes, they tend to take a little diversion - into people's backyards, and the streets.
"Auckland is right in the middle of their migratory route out to the Tasman, so the bright lights of the city are super-disorientating," says Ariel Heswall, a volunteer at BirdCare.
"It causes them to become attracted to the light, where they become grounded and fall out of the sky, and this leaves them prone to cat attacks, dog attacks, and they can collide with buildings," she says.
Heswall hopes to learn more about the effects of lighting on seabird migration, as part of her PhD research.
"Me and my team are mapping out where the seabirds are landing in Auckland, this is the first time it's ever been done," she explains.
Once on the ground, it's hard for the Cook's petrels to take off again.
"They're not meant to be on something flat. If you think of it, they're always on something buoyant, from the air to on the water surface once they've fledged. And so, yes, they look pretty darned awkward don't they?" says Miller.
Awkward, but with plenty of attitude.
"They're rather funny little things, there's always a dominant one so if you put them all together in a pen, somebody's going to deck out all the others. So you've got to have all these dividers so they have their own space," Miller explains.
"They don't look spunky, but they actually are. I love watching them, they give you such a thrill to watch them eye each other up and then going over and going 'boing boing boing,' something like that. It's fun."
Cook's petrels are no strangers to BirdCare Aotearoa - last April, 148 passed through its doors in three weeks. This year, admissions already look set to be much higher.
With Auckland's exceptionally warm and unusually long summer, breeding started earlier and the migration season has kicked off three weeks early. Meaning more petrels are being stranded, sooner.
Phil Tuttle found one intrepid explorer in his Titirangi garden, and brought it into BirdCare.
"I didn't recognise it immediately, it's not the kind of bird you'd normally see in the yard!" He told Newshub.
Tuttle says he was lucky to get the seabird in time.
"My cat does enjoy afternoon snacks, we keep him out of the way as best as we can!"
The BirdCare centre looks after all manner of feathered friends, like ducks, kingfishers, pukeko, and gannets.
It relies on public donations, and public knowledge on what to do if you find a petrel.
"They do need rescuing, don't even question it. They're in a foreign environment. Best if you can get a towel, or cardigan, or something around them, not your bare hands. Mostly because we have oil on our bare hands and it compromises their waterproofing," explains Miller.
Miller says curiously, all the Cook's petrels handed in to BirdCare have been male.
"We don't know why! Is it because males fly at night or females fly during the day? We have so many questions about these birds!"
On Sunday, a number are ready to be released off Auckland's west coast.
"There's that 'oh my gosh, thank goodness one less mouth to feed', but also 'god I love these guys, I hope you're going to be OK!'" says Miller.
The distraction-free cliffs of Bethells are a perfect place for the Cook's petrels' odyssey to finally begin again.
