A GANNET NURSERY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 146, 17 December 1927, Page 14

A GANNET NURSERY

The gannets make their summer home on this rocky promontory, ,7hich can only be reached between the tides. There thousands of these graceful birds can be seen going calmly about their ordinary affairs. "Viewed at close quarters, the gannet is a most handsome bird. His plumage is pure white on the body, the wings and tail feathers are white and black tips. His head and neck are a beautiful buff colour, and his eyes are a light bright blue, with white rings round them, which gives him a speckled appearance. Mrs. and Mr. Gannet dress exactly aliVce, and thire is no noticeable difference in size to distinguish them.

A well-groomed creature is the gannet. It is rare, indeed, to see one with its feathers badly ruffled, even after a fierce fight. The gannet is rather larger than the common black-backed gull, but it has a very much wider spread of wing. It is ungainly in. its movements on land, as it flaps its way to the edge, so that it can launch itself off into space. The gannet cannot rise from a flat surface, so those whose nests are in the centre of the ground have a troublesome time, because of the spiteful pecks of their neighbours as tHey scramble through the ranks to the edge. They seem to go out of their way to be disagreeable, but they do show decided affection towards their mates and a wonderful courage in the protection of their young. Before the eggs are laid the gannets are timid and will leave the nciling ground as soon as a human being appears, but once they have the eggs or young ones to guard, it is extremely difficult to get them to budge off the nest.

Mother and father gannet take turns on the nest during the incubation period and later in guarding the young. When one bird returns from a fishing expedi'on or a pleasure spin in the blue they greet each other with every sign of affection, twining their neck's round each other, and tapping bills— probably the gannet form of kissing. The gannet lays only one egg, which is a greyish blue in colour and about the size and shape of a turkey's, egg. After six weeks ' incubation a dark grey chick i? hatched, featherless and unattractive, but in three weeks' time he presents a very different appearance. He is then covered with soft white down, which makes him look like a large animated powder puff. The chicks are so fluffy at this stage that they often look larger than the parent bird. In about .five weeks white-tipped black feathers begin to push their way through the down until at eight weeks the ypung bird is fully cloaked in a fine speckled suit. He keeps this colouring until the final stage of development is reached, three years later, when he dons the white and black plumage of the adult bird, and the lady of his choice starts housekeeping on her own account.

Gannets have been known to live for at least fifty years. The clucks and young birds move about very little on the nesting ground, spending their time quietly at home in the vicinity of the nest. They take exercise, however, flapping their wings, standing on tip toes, bowing ceremoniously to each other, and going through all manner of strange contortions, which help to develop the muscles of the wings for use later on.

As the young birds, being too fat. cannot fly when the time comes' to leave the nesting ground, they piano down to the water and stay there until they are thin enough to rise from the waves and begin fishing operations for themselves. This thinning clown process is supposed to take from two or three weeks, and it is very likely that many of the young birds perish throutjl; various causes during the starvation period.

The gannet lives on small fish, sue!: as hcrriiig and garfish, and these if secures by diving, being provided with a wonderful system of air cells which protect it as it dives from a great height and at a terrific speed into the water in search of its prey. When the chicks are hatched the adult birds bring fish to the young ones, the young bird thrusting its bill down the parents throat to secure its meal. This fish diet may be nice and nourishing if one happens to be a gannet, and the particular "Plunket system" which they employ iv caring for their young is most successful, judging by the fine, healthy youngsters in their nursery.