Friday, August 23, 2019

JUVENILE NORTHERN GANNET IN FLIGHT, CAMPOBELLO ISLAND,NEW BRUNSWICK, 8/14/2019

   Even though this bird was quite distant, was somewhat back-lit and we can't make out a lot of detail in the photos, we can still ID this bird as a juvenile Northern Gannet as follows:
  • Large size
  • Slender, long and sharply pointed wings 
  • Long, sharply pointed bill
  • Pointed tail with white patch.  You can see the white patch in the first and third photos.
  • This bird was identified as a Northern Gannet by our birding guide
  • Merlin bird photo ID narrowed the ID of this bird to the Northern Gannet and three other birds.  We were able to easily eliminate the other three birds.
  • We believe this is a juvenile (1st year) Northern Gannet because of its dark and grey colors

   The Northern Gannet is the largest species of the Gannet family.  They nest in enormous colonies on cliffs in the North Atlantic.  They spend most of their life at sea.  The Northern Gannet can reach flying speeds of up 65 km per hour.
   The Northern Gannet is a new species to our Photographic Life List, which now stands at 918.






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