Gannet Colony

Picasa Web Albums - Muriwai Beach Gannet Colony

On our way back (see the previous post) we visited Muriwai Beach - the only place in New Zealand where a gannet colony is easily accesible. The birds occupy a small island located about 0.5 km from the shore, one rock and two inland sites. You can see them on this panoramic picture I created about two months earlier, when here were a few birds.

People can watch birds on their eggs, and later feeding their chicks from two viewing platforms right above the breeding sites. Gannets are protected here so the colony is steadily increasing as birds occupy new places on the nearby cliff.

Here is also the photo of a boy on the beach.