Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Gannet influxes

The dominance of juvenile Gannets in the early autumn (see post of 20 October) gives way to a balanced distribution of birds of different ages. This change is partly due to many juveniles continuing south down the coast of West Africa and partly due to the arrival of adults and sub-adults from the north.
There is usually a small number of birds fishing offshore around the coasts of the Strait of Gibraltar but many more come in from the Atlantic when low pressures force them in to shelter and find good fishing. This is the case at the moment as many Gannets came in with yesterday's bad weather. These birds have been fishing offshore and some of Gibraltar's sea cliffs provide excellent opportunities for getting close to them. The photos in this post were all taken today and show the diversity of ages around (from all brown juveniles to white adults). 










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