New Zealand Gannet colony

[wendyc]

Muriwai beach, West Coast, Auckland. The gannets are breeding right now and I thought you may like to see some shots. The babies have just hatched. Some are still on eggs.

[wendyc]

More here. There is a tiny rejected egg near the feet of the second one

[hTr]

Great Exposure Wendy

[ajosteve]

Beautiful shots of birds I will never see. Great job on these pretty birds....steve

[wendyc]

They nest very close to each other so there are lots of squabbles

[Anke]

Lovely series, Wendy. I can't believe how small that egg is?! You're very lucky to get such nice shots of these beautiful birds. Nice one! :D

[conure]

More from our day out at the Muriwai Gannet Colony here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415104 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415104)

and here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415107

[CyberDyneSystems]

What a scene, and you can get so close. The colony I've visited you can get close but not this close, there is a 300 foot drop or so between you and the nest site!

[wendyc]

Yes, we are very lucky, but it is an hours drive there and back from home. Worth it though. I use my 300mm lens with 1.4 extender on. You can watch the colony for hours, its very entertaining, chaos too, especially now with all the chicks much bigger.

[Sindri Skulason]

Very nice series indeed. Well done Wendy. :-)

[wendyc]

Thank you Sindri, high praise indeed coming from you. Much appreciated.