Gannets

Les & I went up to Bempton Cliffs RSPB site for the first time in about 15 years and the gannet colony has increased in size tenfold in that time to circa 10,000 pairs and at this time of year they are busy nest building and parading along the cliffs giving anyone with a decent camera the chance of some spectacular pictures. In the eight hours we spent there I took about 850 pictures which I slowly waded through to finish up with eight that I thought gave a fair representation of what we saw. The bird in the top picture almost fell off the ledge in its attempt to reach down for some nesting material, others were landing on the cliff top and pulling up grass to use (picture 3). Others had done the traditional job of bringing back seaweed and old pieces of fishermens rope for theirs. Picture two is a bit of pair bonding after one returns from a trip out fishing and is often the precurser to mating. The last picture is of a sub adult which might well be an adult by next year.