I
travelled to Percé, Que., in
June 2018 to attend a three-
day workshop on photograph-
ing northern gannets, as I have
been fascinated with them since
first seeing them in Newfound-
land a few years earlier.
We spent two full days on
Bonaventure Island, which is
home to the second-largest
colony of northern gannets in the
world. These seabirds come to
shore to breed in tightly packed
colonies—usually on sea clis.
They return to the same nest and
the same mate every year.
After landing on the island, it
was a 45-minute walk to get to
the colony that was located on
the other side. As we got closer,
you could hear a low din coming
from the area, but the impact of
the noise and the large size of the
colony didn’t register until turn-
ing the corner and experiencing
it firsthand. The noise of the
thousands of birds in the colony
was deafening. The organizedchaos of the birds flying around,
landing and taking o was unex-
pected and awe-inspiring.
After a couple of days, you
eventually adjust to the noise
level and become more attuned
to the personalities and manner-
isms of the birds. I was initially
surprised to see how fiercely
aggressive they were when it
came to their territory but yet
with their mates, they preen and
almost snuggle together.
Each bird seemed to have its
own personality and their looks
changed depending upon the
angle and position they were in.
Gannets have long, pointed bills
but I found that when I took a
picture face on, the bill disap-
peared and the focus became
the icy blue eyes.
Although beautiful and ef-
ficient at sea, they were unex-
pectedly awkward on land due to
their short legs and large webbed
feet, which made them quite
entertaining to watch. Whenflying, the large webbed feet were
tucked up and not visible at all
or were used as rudders when
coming in for a landing. Out of
the thousands of nests on the
island, they seem to know where
their own is and return to it and
their mate, landing in an often
unfriendly group of gannets.
Anytime they passed too close
to a neighbour, a commotion
erupted with bill thrusts and
vocal threats.
The gannets use seaweed,
sticks, grass and feathers to
build their nests. In this photo
(left), two gannets seemed to be
sharing materials to build a nest.
It was a treat to watch, listen and
photograph the numerous pairs
of birds. Team Work
Learning to photograph these
fascinating seabirds was a treat
by Lynn Fergusson, Dartmouth, N.S.BIRDS & BLOOMSFLEETING
BEAUTY
“Growing up in the
mountains I have
never gotten tired
of the beauty they
hold,” shares
Jessica Arnold of
McBride, B.C. “This
photo was taken
from the side of
“Little Bell” moun-
tain here in Mc-
Bride. This field is
full of flowers for
only a short period
of time every year.
If you don’t get up
there in time, you
miss this beauty!”54 Our Canada AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2019