Gannet (Love) Life, Bempton Cliffs - 14th April 2022

 

A gift for my beloved!

After capturing this mornings sunrise (subject of another blog page), I turned my attention to the wildlife around the cliffs. A Barn Owl quartered the old RAF base in poor light. On the cliffs, there were a few Auks, but not in huge numbers, Kittiwakes, Fulmars and of course Gannets. The post sunrise light was poor so I turned my attention to the Gannets. I didn't go anywhere near the Black Browed Albatross, but reports suggest it is present.

So, onto Gannet (love) life!

The Gannet pair endear their bond with the male bringing small gifts to the female, could be anything that takes his fancy!

There then (usually) follows a period of head shaking, bobbing and fencing

This is then followed by the male mounting the female to engage in cloacal rubbing. During this action, the male can be quite vicious to the female, biting her head and neck

We then come to the "cigarette" moment! With the male sky pointing, indicating that the deed is done and he is about to move / fly off!

Hopefully, they have been successful! Incubation time for a Gannet egg is c45days and the average fledging period is c 90days. They only lay one egg.

I noticed that one of my favourite cliff top plants, Pink Campion, is starting to appear. Not to everyone's liking, I think it nicely compliments the white of the seabirds.

All images taken handheld with Sony RX10 Mk4.