Watching the Gannets circling over the ocean in the late afternoon was a treat. With a lightning-bolt nose-dive they'd spear down into the ocean and that part was impossible to capture! From where I stood you would see a long white streak underwater where they'd pushed through the surface.
According to Birds in Backyards these birds soar 10m or more above the surface of the water, herding fish into shoals, then fold their wings back and dive into the water to catch their prey. The fish is normally swallowed before the bird reaches the surface.'
re-surfacing after a catch
Fact Sheet on the Australasian Gannet from Birds in Backyards is here.
Take in the scenic surrounds and high view-points this location via Snap Happy Online post, right here.
Sharing with The Bird D'Pot
30 comments:
Beautiful series of pictures Carole.
You've captured it perfectly, my compliments.
I wish you a very nice weekend.
Greetings Irma
Wonderful .... Great captures! Wish you a very nice Weekend .
Great captures Carole, no doubt it is not easy to catch them in full flight.
Hi Carole. They are wonderful birds to watch diving and you have captured great shots. Not an easy Are you brave enough to cross the bridge with me today? Have a wonderful weekend.
As always, great pix along with facts! THanks for sharing...:)JP
The Gannets are cool birds to watch! Great series, Carole.. Have a happy weekend!
Super....I'm waiting for a chance to get a photo of a gannet. Someday. They're seldom seen here in the Gulf of Mexico, but a vagrant now and then will show up. I hope to be around.
Love the images as always.
Hootin' Anni
and
Anni @ I'd Rather B Birdin'
That would be fun to watch! Pretty impressive that they eat the fish before surfacing!
A lot of fun watching them. You did so well capturing their dive-bombing too :D)
Wow - Nice shots, Carole! They would be great fun to watch I'm thinking.
Wow! If you zoomed in for that first photo, well done Miss Steady Hands.
great aerialists!
Very impressive fishermen. Nice to capture some of the action Carole.
Lovely shots of him flying over that gorgeous sea!
Fascinating bird. My favorite shot was the one with the boat and also the one as it resurfaced from the water.
What fun for you to watch!
Jan
Clever birds and great photos Carole.
They really are quite magnificent to watch. I have only ever seen one at Wynnum. I felt blessed to have seen it though.
Cool birds! I would love to watch them.
Oh, wonderful pictures of Gannets and sure look fantastic aerialists♡♡♡
Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*
Lovely bird the Gannet, special photos.
Beautiful sequence of images.
These are one of my favourite birds - we have a colony on some artificial islands in the bay, so we often see them.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Hi Carole, love the Gannets and you've done well to get such great photos. I've usually just put this species in the "too hard" basket as they are always distant and on the move when I see them. I guess you are lucky in NSW that you have all these beautiful sandstone headlands to watch ocean life from. I remember living at Bronte and stopping on my jog around to Bondi to watch Whales, Gannets and even Albatross (rarely!).
Lovely post. Gannets are handsome and dramatic birds. I saw them sometimes when I lived in Melbourne. The scenes in this post are beautiful.
Great flyers!! Boom, Bobbi and Gary.
Almost "snap" I didn't realise there was Australasian Gannet. We get Northern Gannet here and I'm sure it's nearly the same. It's wonderful to see them fishing like that and diving headlong into the water.
Wonderful photos of the Gannet.
Terrific photographs, Carole! I love watching Gannets circle high and then fold their wings and take that headlong plunge! They're beautiful birds.
Thank you for sharing the experience! Hope you're off to a fantastic week!
Wonderful series.
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