Gannet ©Halla Hreggvidsdottir 2013. All rights reserved.
Gannet ©Halla Hreggvidsdottir 2013. All rights reserved.
Northern Gannet (Morus Bassanus)
A Feather for the Nest - The cold waters of the North Atlantic are home to the beautiful white Northern Gannets.  Both Canada and Great Britain are home to these seabirds who nest on the rocky coastlines.  They are easily identifiable with white bodies, black wingtips, blue bills and blue eyes.  This Gannet has found a feather that is being brought back to Bird Rock to be used as nesting material.  Stock Image #20110622-124429C
Look What I Found - Have you ever really looked at a bird's nest?  It is amazing what items you will find in it.  Some lucky Northern Gannet pair will soon find their nest enriched by a single feather.  Since the Gannets only lay one egg per year, the nest building is extremely important to protect the young on the rocky ledges upon which they nest.  Stock Image #20110622-124429B
The Home Builder - The Northern Gannet pair will lay a single egg and take turns caring for the hatchling.  As we watched the multitudes of Gannets in flight over the rocky Newfoundland coastline, we constantly saw these beautiful birds with nesting material in their beaks.  Stock Image #20110622-112150D
Northern Gannet Staring Contest - Can you imagine yourself and 20,000 of your closest friends sharing a very limited space for all of your nesting season?  That is exactly what the Northern Gannets of Newfoundland's Avalon peninsula do.  Every inch of rocky coastline is filled with nests and the noise of breeding birds.  Stock Image #20110622-111437
The Northern Gannet with its 5 to 6 foot wing span is an impressive site as it scopes out its landing on Bird Rock.  Bird Rock is located on the Cape Shore between Placentia Bay and St. Mary's Bay in Newfoundland.  Stock Image #20110622-104717
Crowded Landing - The beautiful golden yellow heads of the Northern Gannet appear during mating season.  While Gannets are closely related to the Boobies, this colony of over 20,000 breed on the shores of Newfoundland's southwestern coast.  Preferring to build their nests on the rocky tops of the sea stack known as Bird Island, nesting material must be transported in from neighboring green hillsides.  Stock Image #20110622-111323
Gannet ©Halla Hreggvidsdottir 2013. All rights reserved.
Gannet ©Halla Hreggvidsdottir 2013. All rights reserved.
Gannet ©Halla Hreggvidsdottir 2013. All rights reserved.
See photo in original gallery.