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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Northern Gannets at Bonaventure Island, Quebec (9) | |
This is my 4th trip to Bonaventure Island in the Gaspe region of Quebec. There are over 100,000 pairs of nesting Gannets there, which makes this a fun and exciting shoot. Normally I focus on BIF but this time I was trying to isolate more Gannet behavior – which is a challenge when you try to isolate a couple of birds in a sea of thousands! Anyway – here are some pics with commentaries. I hope you enjoy. My 4 year collection taken at different times (mating, egg laying, rearing young) can be found here.
Dave
(1) Gannets mate for life and have very strong and affectionate bonds for each other. On the contrary side they have little tolerance for unwelcomed guests. Therefore, first and foremost the nests are equally spaced – just out of pecking reach of each other. This makes landing a challenge. How they differentiate from each other from the air is a mystery to me. You will notice in this picture the landing Gannet is being “welcomed” by the nesting females ready to peck if this male lands in the wrong spot. (I’m assuming the females are the ones on the nests)
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/151553458/original.jpg
(2) Landing – that is another challenge. Gannets live at sea and only come to land to mate and raise their offspring. Consequently these graceful fliers (with 6 feet wingspan) are terrible landers and many times land with a loud thump! Once again you will notice the nesting females ready to hen-peck the landing male if he’s not their mate.
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/151553461/original.jpg
(3) I need to add an older pic of what I mean by hen pecking when the male lands at the wrong spot!
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/127015250/original.jpg
(4) However, once landed at the right spot the male will many times grab the female at the back of her neck.
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/151553455/original.jpg
(5) Then they go into their signature ritual of softly striking beak to beak. This could go on for several minutes.
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/151553454/original.jpg
(6) Here is a proud mom with her chick.
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/151553462/original.jpg
(7) Some of the nesting females like to challenge their neighbors.
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/151553457/original.jpg
(8) A male bringing home nesting material.
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/151553456/original.jpg
(9) Inbound!
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/image/151553459/original.jpg
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