Gannet (Morus bassanus)

Adults are large and bright white with black wingtips. They are distinctively shaped with a long neck and long pointed beak, long pointed tail, and long pointed wings. At sea they flap and then glide low over the water, often traveling in small groups. They feed by flying high and circling before plunging into the sea.

I took the top and bottom photographs on Bass Rock, which is located off the coast of North Berwick. A number of companies operate boat trips from the harbour  daily however landing on the island is regulated by the Scottish RSPB. The middle two images were taken off Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, which is another RSPB reserve and the largest Gannet colony in England (but much smaller then Bass Rock).

top - this photograph was taken from the cliff top board walk as the nesting gannets retuned to feed their young.

Second and third - taken from the cliff top observation platform above the colony. The birds twisted and turned on the wind to return to their nest sites.

bottom - on a previous trip to the island, the weather was better but we couldn't land due to the sea swell. I took this image to put the bird into the environment. Sometimes a better photograph is obtained by zooming out and not filling the frame with the animal.

Top and bottom - Pentax *ist D Sigma 70 - 300mm lens.