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Northern gannet (adult)

Morus bassanus

Photo by Elsa
Published on Project Noah
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50.1347, -0.357056

Field Notes

Description:

The northern gannet, related to the boobies, are the largest seabirds of the north atlantic with wingspans of up to 2 meters. They are stunning birds with light yellow heads, light blue eyes surrounded by bare black skin, white bodies and black wingtips.

Notes:

Spotted in the English channel midway between Le Havre and Southampton. In some of the photos you can see them looking into the water, ready to plunge.

Reference Links:

Northern Gannet

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (13)
Elsa
Appreciate it Saarbrigger! They were flying in semi-formation, but only brifely then continuing solo-flying in the search for fish in the surface.
Saarbrigger
Very nice shots even against the bright sky. I like the third one. Looks liek as they wood fly in formation.
Elsa
Thanks NicoleB! :)
NicoleB
Very nice photos of this Beauty!
Elsa
Thank you Christiane :)
Elsa
I Wish Ashish.. Thanks for your kind words :)
Ashish
Elsa... Did you fly with him to grab such great shots.... Wonderful work..!!
Elsa
Thank you very much :) I really like gannets, they're so fun to watch when they plunge dive to catch prey. These guys were following the ship I was on. I've got some shots of juveniles too that I'll post.
Elsa
Thanks MickGrant! No, they were taken from a ship :)
MickGrant
Very nice shots - taken from a cliff?

Spotted for Missions

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2011 Best Wildlife Photo
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PublishedJuly 27, 2011

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