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Gannet

Takapu

Sula bassana serrator

Gannets are occasional visitors to Paterson Inlet. They breed on Little Solander Island, about 50 miles (80k) to the west, between Stewart Island and Pusygeur Point. This is the southernmost colony in the world and consists of around 200 breeding pairs.

Most gannets seem to stray into the Fiordland area, rather than Stewart Island.

They are extremely graceful flyers and are very handsome with a mustard coloured head, white body with black outer and trailing wing edges. We do occasionally watch them diving, which is really spectacular.

Size 910 mm


Gannet in a colony.
Superb flyers. Gannet are superb flyers. Their colonies are crowded social affairs.
Feeding. Gannets are diving birds. We NEVER see more than 3 birds together at any one time. But feeding flocks further north are an amazing sight.
Feeding . I understand they hit the water with their eyes open. Understandable as they need to keep their selected fish in sight. But it does apparently ultimately lead to blindness and so death by starvation
Feeding . A flock feeding is really something special. And as a school of fish will pull many species together to take advantage often dolphins will be found working the same school.