Gannet colony; Muriwai New Zealand. Su Leslie 2017
“The crowd intimidates me, its breath suffocates me. I feel paralysed by its curious look, and the unknown faces make me dumb.” — Frederic Chopin
I suspect that if there is, somewhere, a photo of me in a crowd, I would be the embodiment of Chopin’s words. As far as I know, there isn’t.
But I wonder; could introversion ever be a character trait in gannets?
Given their highly communal breeding and chick-rearing habits, it’s not a trait that I’d wish on them.
In response to Debbie’s Quotation-inspired challenge at Travel with Intent
Zimmerbitch 
ha! What strikes me here is how totally colour-adapted the gannet is with its surroundings. And only yesterday, I ‘buried’ (deleted) a bunch of similar photos I took of gannets at Lake Zurich, Switzerland – they ‘melted’ so well into their surroundings, a pebble & stone covered stretch of ground, that I could hardly make them out!
For people like you, two is a crowd!
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That’s true; when you see the gannets en made, its like seeing the sandstone cliffs where they nest moving.
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If, in a future life, I’m sent back to earth as a gannet, I’ll know I’ve been very bad indeed.
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OMG yes!! That would be noisy, smelly hell.
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I get this.
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I’m very much an introvert but I love a crowd full of strangers. It’s the small intimate groups that terrify me.
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Interesting!! I hate being caught up in a mass of people; I get quite claustrophobic. It’s the personal space thing for me. Socially I’m much better in small groups.
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The same is true for me!! 😄
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That poor gannet, but it’s part of their culture and perhaps there’s safety in numbers. Great photo Su.
Leslie
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Thanks Leslie. Living in a colony must be largely beneficial for the species I guess.
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That is definteily me! No wonder I like Chopin’s music…
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😀😀
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I often feel uncomfortable in huge crowds and tend to avoid them if I can.
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I can see how living in beautiful Arrow Lakes must suit you. I like to be away from crowds too.
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I think these colony birds are pretty tough and used to it. Also there’s safety in numbers and if a fox or other predator came to look for the eggs or chicks it would mean that just a few need to be sacrificed.
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I think you are right. Introversion wouldn’t be a particularly useful trait in gannets.
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