life on the edge
there must be thousands
Northern Gannets mate for life, each year the couple meets, greets and breeds at the Rock
this is Bird Rock
the white on these cliffs are actually birds and their droppings, lots of them
start of the 1 km trail over the tundra to Bird Rock, the wind is blowing
some are home alone, the mate probably gone fishing
this pair is nursing their young
and perform the intricate sword crossing dance
a colony of Gannets on the slopes of a cliff, in the background the visitor center and lighthouse
the birds of Cape St Mary's
This
part of Avalon sports a sub-arctic tundra climate, which means no trees, low temps and often fog or rain.
Most visitors
do not come here for the tundra and its interesting biome, they come to see birds, lots of seabirds.
The top attraction is Bird Rock,
a sea stack at the end of a 1 km trail. From 20 meters away you can observe thousands of gannets. Some are busy raising
their chick, others perform the intricate bonding ritual or just sit or fly around.
We visited on a cold and cloudy day
in September 2017. By the time we reached Bird Rock it was pouring and the wind and rain blew hard in our face, not
the ideal setting for watching birds and taking pictures at the edge of a steep cliff.
But the Gannets did not seem
to mind the bad weather at all and were there out in force doing their normal things.
Knowing the Cape has 200 foggy
days per year we were probably lucky.
the visitor center at Cape St Mary's
inside they have a mock-up of the Reserve, an interpretative center and warm sweaters for sale
the trail ends at a steep cliff, just in front of Bird Rock
taking off against the wind is easy, just spread your wings and fly away
after the spectacle we head back over the tundra to the visitor center. It is stil raining
a young Gannet seems ready to fly away
