#Morus bassanus

[birdblues]

Northern Gannet

[snototter]

A northern gannet (Morus bassanus) preys on fish in the United Kingdom

by Graham Thurlow

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Northern Gannet

Photo: Keith Yates

"One of the largest seabirds of the North Atlantic, the gannet is spectacular as it plunges into the sea in pursuit of fish. With a spear-like bill and spiky tail, it looks 'pointed at both ends.' Nesting colonies are on northern sea cliffs; one at Bonaventure Island, Quebec, has become a famous tourist destination. In winter off southern coastlines, the gleaming white adults may be outnumbered by brown and patchy immatures; it takes four years for gannets to attain full adult plumage."

- Audubon Field Guide

[huariqueje]

Jan van Genten , Morus bassanus   -  Lidwien Chorus

Dutch, b. 1951 -

Lithograph,   45 x 36 cm. Ed. 20.

[dogwise]

[proton-wobbler]

Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)

"I was on a Canadian cruise two weeks ago, and we had a balcony room but it was usually too cold to go out. In the Gulf of St Lawrence, I was getting ready for dinner and bemoaning the near-total lack of birds I'd seen from the ship, when joy of joys, two birds flew past, in the distance, over the open water! I grabbed the binoculars and went onto the balcony, ignoring that it was cold and windy and I was underdressed. I knew they were just gulls, but maybe it was a unique gull species, right? And then they flew past again, I got a good luck, and lo and behold, they were NOT gulls! And they weren't terns either! And they were cool and lined and sleek and had really pretty tan necks! And of course, I didn't shell out for the crazy-expensive ship wifi and I had no cell service right then, so I had to frantically take all the notes I could. Later, when I managed to get online, I couldn't make Merlin's maps / locations cooperate, so I googled north atlantic seabirds and, et voila! First response was clearly my bird: the Northern Gannett. So I love them now. And hopefully they're niche enough that no one else will submit them (please, I hope!!)."

Some northern gannet breeding colonies have been recorded as being located in the same place for hundreds of years. The cliffs containing the colonies appear white when seen from a distance, due to the number of nesting birds present on them. Bass Rock, a Scottish colony, is the largest of them all at nearly 75,000 nests.

They dive with their bodies straight and rigid, wings tucked close to the body but angled back, extending beyond the tail, before piercing the water like an arrow. They control the direction of the dive using their wings and tail, and fold their wings against the body just before impact. Birds can hit the water at speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph). This allows them to penetrate up to 11 m (36 ft) below the surface, and they will swim down to an average 19.7 m (60 ft), sometimes deeper than 25 m (80 ft).

Sources:

Image source: eBird ( Angus Pritchard)

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Soaring, Gannets (Morus bassanus), Bass Rock, Scotland

‘I took this image from a boat trip to Bass Rock, looking up at the towering cliffs and the gannets soaring above it. I wanted to show the drama of the place so converted it to black and white and darkened the image. I had been lucky enough to also land on the island a few days before and had been able to photograph this huge breeding population of gannets close up, which have been totally devastated this year by avian flu hitting the island’

Photograph: Paula Cooper

British Wildlife Photography Awards

[mutsukiss]

i made a small doodle of nigel

[dreamingmellon]

HI!

I have a crush on a bird

This one

Yes

Thank you for comming to my ted-talk, goodnight,

-Me

[mutant-distraction]

Martin Goff Photos

Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)

[herpsandbirds]

Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus), family Sulidae, Helgoland, Germany

photograph by Wilrie van Logchem

[birdblues]

Northern Gannet

[ornithological]

northern gannet (morus bassanus), ireland

[mybeingthere]

Sculptural - Gannets (Fou de Bassan)

The northern gannet (Morus bassanus) is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in the northern Atlantic.

Gannet, Photo by Dean Eades.

Photos - Fou de bassan - Northern Gannet - Michel Lamarche.

Northern gannets on the Saltee Islands, Ireland © Bart Breet/Minden Pictures

https://www.istockphoto.com/de/fotos/gannet-bird

Scott Grant, Northern Gannet Tight Portrait. Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve.

[autistrix]

[https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101673900] Northern Gannet || Morus bassanus Observed in France Near Threatened in location of observation

[dogwise]

Northern gannets (Morus bassanus)