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.
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