Thanks Sarah. The babies are fast becoming teenagers and are almost ready to leave home. That means a flight across the Tasman sea to Australia. They stay there for a few years then fly back to the colony here to find a mate. After that, they don’t really leave again. Sadly, quite a few don’t survive the return trip. 😦
Thanks Amy. We were about six or seven feet away. There is a viewing platform on one of the cliffs, and some birds nest very close to that. They are obviously pretty used to humans (in large numbers) and just carry on with their lives. That mother and chick were so much fun to watch.
It is! We’ve been making regular trips out there in the last few months and have really enjoyed seeing the whole nesting/hatching/growing process. Most of the chicks have their juvenile plumage now and will be making their flight to Australia soon.
When I did a research for my first post about gannets, I learned that people kill these fluffy babies and eat them, and there is an annual baby gannet eating contest.
That’s barbaric! I can understand hunting animals for food as a necessity, but to turn such a thing into a contest is horrendous. It’s like whaling — done out of tradition and “because we can” rather than the need to survive.
All images by Su Leslie, 2017
Zimmerbitch 
wow, these are amazing shots
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Thank you 🙂
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Aww – so lovely! To be free as a bird… sigh
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Thanks Sarah. The babies are fast becoming teenagers and are almost ready to leave home. That means a flight across the Tasman sea to Australia. They stay there for a few years then fly back to the colony here to find a mate. After that, they don’t really leave again. Sadly, quite a few don’t survive the return trip. 😦
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Sounds tough, but that´s nature for you – survival of the fittest and all… Can´t help hoping though that most of them will return home!
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Me too. I’ve grown so fond of them.
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Amazing—how close were you in the top shots? Just beautiful!
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Thanks Amy. We were about six or seven feet away. There is a viewing platform on one of the cliffs, and some birds nest very close to that. They are obviously pretty used to humans (in large numbers) and just carry on with their lives. That mother and chick were so much fun to watch.
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I bet!
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Aren’t they beautiful!
Leslie
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Gorgeous; but very noisy and the whole area has become incredibly smelly with all the bird poop.
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I guess that’s the down side of things.
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Small down-side; and it’s fun watching first-time visitors when they first encounter the smell 🙂
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😉
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fascinating place isn’t it – I have a few photos taken there a couple of years ago
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It is! We’ve been making regular trips out there in the last few months and have really enjoyed seeing the whole nesting/hatching/growing process. Most of the chicks have their juvenile plumage now and will be making their flight to Australia soon.
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Precious and nature’s inspiration…
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Thank you Sally. As always my encounter with the gannets fills me with joy and wonder.
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What a beautiful spot.
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Oh sweet baby, I cannot wait to see them in May.
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🙂 you’ve reminded me I must go out to the colony again soon. Some of these babies are getting very big and look ready to fly.
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When I did a research for my first post about gannets, I learned that people kill these fluffy babies and eat them, and there is an annual baby gannet eating contest.
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That’s barbaric! I can understand hunting animals for food as a necessity, but to turn such a thing into a contest is horrendous. It’s like whaling — done out of tradition and “because we can” rather than the need to survive.
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Exactly. It is a shame that people don’t see anything wrong in such contests. You can google ‘gannet babies’ and ‘food’. Just horrible.
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