Greeting the Gannets

Took Katie over to Muriwai Beach this afternoon to see the gannets which have recently arrived from Australia. Having completed their Big OE, the birds have returned to their roots to couple up and produce their chicks.

The nesting areas are on top of a rock stack and part way down the cliffs.


The birds were just settling in, cleaning themselves up and having a rest after their long flight.


Some of them were getting to know each other...


...whilst some of the males had already taken a dislike to each other...


But it was difficult to tell what some of the birds were doing - maybe they were simply hanging out...


More photos of the Wild West Coast online here...