The Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus)

The gannet is Britain’s largest seabird. It can be seen from most coastlines given a bit of patience. To really appreciate this seabird, however, it is necessary to visit one of the breeding colonies on islands, rocks, stacks and rocky outcrops along our coast. These colonies, can be huge like the one on Bass Rock which is about 2 km offshore and 5 km from North Berwick in Scotland. This colony alone is home to more than 150,000 gannets.The aim of my project is to illustrate life within the colonies at Bass Rock and elsewhere. In particular, I have focused my lens on the gannet’s behaviour.

The birds live in close proximity and at first glance there seems to be chaos everywhere - a useful defence incidentally against predators. With time it is possible to isolate some of the characteristic activities that are very much part of the gannet’s life. During this project, I have visited colonies at RSPB Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast, RSPB Troup Head on the Scottish mainland, St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides, Hermaness and Noss in Shetland, Grassholm Island off the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales, and the Great Saltee island off the Co Wexford coast in Ireland where just over 2000 gannets belong to a colony. Britain and Ireland have nearly 70% of breeding northern gannets. Unlike many other of our coastal seabirds, gannets have done remarkably well in recent years. For example, the Troup Head colony grew from just 2 pairs in 1985 to 2787 pairs in 2010. Hopefully, this remarkable seabird will be with us in large numbers for many years to come.