Northern Gannet...

A quick check of Ontbirds at lunchtime revealed the presence of a juvenile Northern Gannet in with the feeding gulls offshore from Port Credit harbor. So, a quick call to my friend Hugh and off we went.


The bird was easy to locate within the sizeable mass of feeding gulls offshore from the west side of the harbour. I took some very poor video through the scope and ended up with possibly the worst ever photos of a Northern Gannet ever taken...quite an achievement and one I'm certainly proud of! What do you expect with 200 X magnification, a biting cold wind and dreary British-winter-like conditions!! Whatever, the pix DO show the general shape of a gannet.


I well remember KT pointing out to me when she saw a Gannet at the spit many moons ago that the bird looked like a "flying hockey stick" what with the pointy head angled downwards and all. Well, from the photo you can see this is an excellent description...should be quoted in the field guides thinks MM.


Juvenile Northern Gannets are predominantly dark brown with a paler belly and narrow crescent on the upper tail coverts. Not that you can see any of the finer points on this appalling videograb. However, you can see the long and narrow pointed wings and the long dagger-like bill quite nicely. Also seen where a Red-necked Grebe, a Bonaparte's Gull and a first-winter Iceland Gull. A great bird to see in the GTA. Maybe it will stick around for all those winter listers...