Been busy again this week, and since so many of you enjoyed the pic of the gannet, here's another to give you more of an idea what it's like on Bird Island:
Perfect lighting! A rapidly approaching steel grey storm provides perfect contrast to the sunlit gannets circling the 156 year old lighthouse.
Ok, I'm back in circulation again! Apologies for pause, but I've enjoyed a bit of wonderful and much needed R&R :)
I was really fortunate enough to visit Bird Island recently (the one in Algoa Bay, near Port Elizabeth) thanks to a combination of Brian at AV8 Helicopters helping out SANParks, the Namibian Air Force, my wonderful man & some semi-decent weather (don't ask!).
Bird Island is one of only six breeding sites for the Cape Gannet which is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful birds. Being the nesting season, there were a large number of birds on the island in their usual huddle, with numberous take-offs and landings being executed seemingly at random. The birds on the island are not used to people coming to visit and appeared rather curious about me, many of them hovering on the wind just above my head, but otherwise didn't appear concerned about my presence. If you'd like to find out a little more about Bird Island and the Cape Gannet, visit http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/bi-algoa.htm
Skilful close non-formation flying on the island...
Skillful close formation flying en-route...
