The cliffs at the moment are dominated by the Gannets. Kittiwakes are starting to move on and all of the Auks (Puffins, Guillemots & Razorbills) have moved onto the sea. Interestingly, the Auks normally tend to swim far out into the sea, but hundreds of them can be seen in Bridlington Bay, with young, feeding.
Gannets, like many seabirds, lay one egg per year. It is incubated for about 45days and is a further 90days before fledging. Gannets take 5years to reach breeding maturity and can be aged throughout that period. Generally, the darker a fledged Gannet is, the younger it is. Each year they will lose the dark feathers and gain more white. It is the opposite during the period to fledging whereby the whiter they are the younger they are. Gannets prior to fledging will be almost black. Young Gannets are known as "Guga's".
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