Gannet

Spotted this gannet swooping along the shoreline this afternoon. Thought it was a bit too big to be a seagull and they don't dive into the water hunting for fish like this one was. Luckily I had the longer lens on the camera and managed to grab a couple of shots before it headed off. Haven't seen one of these around here before and the two nearest colonies are over 40km away as the gannet flies (Muriwai on the west coast or Horuhoru alias Gannet rock which is out in the Hauraki Gulf). Although that's just a short hop for these birds who fly across The Tasman Sea to Australia about 3000km away.