Gannets at Cape Kidnappers

We took a tour to the gannet colony today. It was a magical moment when we drew up on the flat area right beside the colony. It was like nothing I could have imagined. Around 3000 breeding pairs and a couple of thousand chicks jam packed on a cliff edge within a couple of metres of us . The warbling noise from them all was constant background.

The rough nests were very close together and as the birds are very territorial, there was a lot of aggressive interaction going on. Chicks at every stage were demanding food and they must fatten right up before they make the long flight to Australia.

Many birds were flying out to fish and back in to feed the young and I have included a couple of flight shots in the extras plus an adult and chick. The main blip is the scene that greeted us on arrival