As promised last week this post revisits the Muriwai Gannets. The Muriwai Gannet colony is one of my favourite places and it has been almost a year since I last visited in late November last year.

Being early spring the birds are in nest building and courting mode. On the day we visited the wind levels were relatively low but there was till plenty of flight shot opportunities as well as the pair greeting displays.

With nesting building in full swing many birds are carrying in nesting material. Most of this is natural consisting of kelp, other seaweed or grasses but some is abandoned plastic cordage from fishing operations.

Plastic ingestion is a major threat to seabirds. Drifting plastic becomes coated with phytoplankton and smells like food. Apart from providing no nutritional value, after ingestion it doesn’t break down so can cause intestinal blockage and death. While this plastic nesting material is not at risk of ingestion it can be a concern for tangling chicks in the nest.

On a more positive note, there is plenty of opportunity for close-up images showing the beauty of the preening birds on the nest.

Photos with Nikon D850 and Nikon 300mm f4PF lens