Specie's Page                                               Northern Gannet - Medium Diver

Northern Gannet:

UK Status: Summer visitor breeding in the UK.

Habitat: Sea cliffs.

Breeding: Older breeding birds return first to a colony at the start of the breeding season. Birds do not breed until they are four to five years old, some immature birds may make a nest as practice before they come to maturity. Younger birds return to colony later than the breeding pairs, and tend to hang around the colonies outer edges. This bird makes it's untidy nest of grass, seaweed, earth and other debris and vegetation on rocky ledges protruding from cliff faces. Males tend to build the nests, in which the female lays a single ovular matt creamy coloured egg. There is only one brood with a single egg each year, however if this egg is lost, they will lay a replacement. There can be as many as three nests per square metre area of rock, over the years nests can get to two metres high.

Comment: Northern Gannets are of concern in the UK, the number of these summer visitors has dropped considerably over the last few decades. Gannets fish by diving like missiles into the sea and grabbing fish underwater. Dives are performed from quite a considerable height, to gain maximum momentum, giving the fish little chance of escape. Their bodies have evolved over millennia to be able to withstand the tremendous forces involved with diving hard.