This will be the last post using material from the pelagic trip I took over a week ago, but I think I might have saved the best for last.  Northern Gannets Morus bassanus are an amazing bird to watch, especially from a boat where one can see them up close in their element.  On the trip I was at first disappointed at how few gannets we saw and though we didn’t tally too many total, towards the end of the trip we had a couple that cooperated nicely, coming in for chum and buzzing the boat.  We never saw them do a full-on plunge dive but, really, we didn’t need to: just the experience of seeing them from so close was more than enough!

I really enjoyed taking pictures of the Northern Gannets and I think I did a decent job capturing what this graceful bird is all about…