High Flyer

There aren't many gannets still remaining at the Waimaru Gannet Colony, Clova Bay, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, as most of this season's chicks have matured enough to make the flight across the Tasman Sea to Australia. The last lingering chicks are still being fed by their patient parents and won't be there much longer. A friend and I were camping in Clova Bay, on a kayaking trip, and were very lucky that the gannets were still there. Here's a pic of one of the patient parents! They are such an elegant bird when an adult and beautiful to watch flying. The chicks are patterned, mostly grey and black, and as well as feeding they are busy practising flapping and flexing their wings in preparation for their big flight.