Northern Gannet in Flight
by Eva Lechner
Title
Northern Gannet in Flight
Artist
Eva Lechner
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
The northern gannet (Morus bassanus) is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and North America. The sexes are similar in appearance. The adult northern gannet has a mainly white streamlined body with a long neck, long and slender wings. It is 87–100 cm (34–39 in) long with a 170–180 cm (67–71 in) wingspan. The head and nape have a buff tinge that is more prominent in breeding season, and the wings are edged with dark brown-black feathers. The long pointed bill is blue-grey, contrasting with black bare skin around the mouth and eyes. Juveniles are mostly grey-brown, becoming increasingly white in the five years it takes them to reach maturity.
Nesting takes place in colonies on both sides of the north Atlantic, the largest of which are at Bass Rock (75,000 pairs as of 2014), St Kilda (60,000 pairs as of 2013) and Ailsa Craig (33,000 pairs as of 2014) in Scotland, Grassholm in Wales, and Bonaventure Island (60,000 pairs in 2009) off the coast of Quebec.There is a small colony of northern gannets nesting on the cliffs of Helgoland,a german islan in the North sea.
Its breeding range has extended northward and eastward, colonies being established on Russia's Kola Peninsula in 1995 and Bear Island, southernmost island of Svalbard, in 2011. Colonies are mostly located on offshore islands with cliffs, from which the birds can more easily launch into the air. The northern gannet undertakes seasonal migrations and hunts for the fish that form the bulk of its diet by high-speed dives into the sea.
Wildlife photography by Eva Lechner(photographed on 08/11/2019 on Helgoland)
Uploaded
October 14th, 2019
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Viewed 500 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 04/17/2024 at 7:23 AM
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Comments (4)
Larry Kniskern
Congratulations, Eva – your up-in-the-sky scene has been featured by the Go Take a Hike Photography Group! Feel free to add it to the 2022 Featured Images thread in the group discussion board for archive.
Don Columbus
Congratulations Eva, your work is Featured in "Coastal Water Birds-Shore Birds" I invite you to place it in the group's "2019 Featured Image Archive" Discussion!! L/Tweet