Ageing Gannets can be a bit of fun! Gannets lay one egg per year which they incubate under their large, very vascular feet, for about forty five days. From hatching to fledging takes about ninety days. Gannets, on average, live for about twenty years. It takes five years for a Gannet to reach maturity and their appearance changes each year. As a rule of thumb, the darker a fledged Gannet is, the younger they are. When they fledge from the ledges, they will be almost black in appearance. Each year, they will lose more dark plumage and gain more white.
It is almost the opposite for Gannet young, known as Guga. As they gain feathers, they are predominantly white, gradually becoming darker as they progress to fledging.
So year one Gannets, once they fledge are almost black/dark brown. However, at the moment, the year one Gannets are still in their Guga stage.
Year Two Gannets
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