Last summer Deb and I enjoyed a day on Bonaventure Island, four kilometres off the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula near the quaint little town of Percé, Quebec. The purpose of the trip to Bonaventure Island was to photograph the Northern Gannet, a large pelagic bird that for years has made Bonaventure Island the largest nesting site in the world for Gannets. With just over 52,000 nests (2012) among five colonies on the island, there are approximately 150,000 gannets on Bonaventure Island from mid-June to mid-September each year. This was actually the second summer that we travelled to Percé hoping to photograph the Gannets. On our first trip we were met with three days of high winds and heavy rains that created seas so rough that the boats could not leave the harbour for the short trip to Bonaventure Island. We were thankful to have perfect conditions on our second annual attempt!
The land masses of Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock were amalgamated in 1985 to become The Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park. The island is also designated as a Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Access to Bonaventure Island is via ferry from the main dock in Percé, which is one of the most beautiful spots in Eastern Canada offering spectacular views of Percé Rock and Bonaventure Island. If you arrive early enough in the morning, you can purchase a $20 ticket to join the first ferry of the day which transports park staff to the island. It is a direct, 20 minute trip providing first access to the island and the 2km hike across the island to reach the Gannet colonies on the far side of the island. The regular ferry is $35 and takes an hour however you travel around Percé Rock and the far side of Bonaventure Island allowing you to see the Gannet colonies on the 300′ cliffs of the island. Deb and I were the only photographers on the staff ferry so the lead time allowed us to enjoy about 90 minutes alone at the Gannet colonies before the tourists and other photographers arrived.
Having the whole day set aside to spend on Bonaventure Island enabled us to plan for many different types of shots including some video. Although we probably took too much gear with us, we used it all and were thankful we made the effort to lug it across the island. Our gear for the day included a Kata backpack filled with a Canon 5D Mk III plus 16-35mm, 24-105mm and 100-400mm lenses as well as a Fuji X-E2 body, 8mm fisheye and 18-55mm lenses. Attached to the backpack was a Gitzo traveller tripod with Markins ball head. Balanced on my shoulder was a Canon 1Dx and 500mm telephoto lens attached to a Jobu carbon fibre monopod and gimbal head. It took about 45 minutes via the shortest trail to reach the Gannet colonies. It was a great hike on a well travelled path cutting directly across the island starting at sea level and rising to about 300′ over the 2km walk.
The hike is mostly in heavy forest and as we approached the far side of the island the scents and sounds of the Gannets greeted us long before the actual birds did. Both the smell and the sound were like nothing Deb & I had experienced before however we quickly acclimatized to both!
The Northern Gannet’s behaviour is quite paradoxical and some of these ironies will be highlighted throughout this post. I think this great pelagic bird is best summed up by Lucie Lagueux, a world renowned expert on the Gannet, who states “What surprises me most about the gannet is its overwhelming ambivalence. Although it is a sea bird, perfectly adapted to life in a marine environment, it spends more than six months on dry land. While its anatomy and behaviour make it eminently suited to cliff-nesting, it does not seem to be able to resist the temptation of the plateau. The gannet is a territorial bird, yet it lives in a very dense colony. It is an aggressive bird, yet its aggressiveness has but one goal: to ensure proximity to other gannets. Finally it is a very predictable bird – in most cases, the gannet’s reaction to a given situation can be easily anticipated. Yet sometimes it exhibits behaviour which is quite inexplicable”. This perfectly describes our observations of the Gannets during the time we spent with them.
When arriving at the colonies for the first time one is astounded by the sheer number of birds. It is difficult to appreciate what 100,000+ birds looks, sounds and smell like and although these images won’t do any of them justice, perhaps this video will help!
The density of the colony is shown below and its remarkable that Gannets returning from fishing excursions can find the exact location of their nest, however they always do. To put the density into perspective, the typical nesting site is 75 cm in diameter and adjacent nesting sites measure 80 cm centre to centre. Nest density is 2.3 nests per square metre.
Finding the right nest is a challenge for the Gannet and you can in this next image the reception that the landing Gannet receives from its neighbours.
The Northern Gannet is a large pelagic bird weighing on average 3.2 kg with a wing span of 1.8m. Gannets have average lifespans of twenty years however have been known to live for as long as forty. It is a beautiful bird, especially in breeding plumage when the head and crown take on a warm golden hue and the feet are accented with bold green lines.
Gannets are also beautiful in flight and their large wing span and thin wings make them excellent gliders. The white underside of the gannet also provides them great camouflage while hunting.
Nests are manicured mounds on the ground that are very sparse yet well defined as seen below. The highly territorial Gannet defends the nest fiercely even though they are very close to their neighbours.
The female Gannet easily lays a single egg as egg size is small compared to the size of the adult bird. Incubation lasts approximately 43 days during which the egg is surrounded by the webbed feet of the parent who’s increased blood flow to the feet keeps the egg warm.
Parents take turns between guarding their chick and fishing to provide food for the newest family member. They transfer partially digested fish to the young bird and it grows rapidly for the 75 days before it fledges.
Young birds remain on the nest until they fledge. As they expend little energy while confined to the nest and are continually being fed they actually grow to become larger and heavier than their parents. In fact they weigh almost 1 kg more than the adults when they leave the nest at 10-12 weeks of age. When they fledge they leave the nest and their parents for good and are on their own from that day until they mate at five years of age (younger birds will return to a colony at the age of two or three, but remain at the periphery of the colony and do not pair up or nest until age five). It is quite humorous to see a large young Gannet with its significantly smaller parents just before fledging.
New born Gannets can not be left unattended by its parents as neighbouring Gannets will attack them and should a young bird move off the nest it will surely be destroyed. This is one reason, the first year mortality rate of Gannets is over 60%. This next image shows the fate of a young bird that has inadvertently moved off its nest while its parent vainly tries to come to the rescue. You can see the remains of another chick in the foreground….a poignant visual display of life and death on a Gannet colony. When Gannets lose an egg or young chick they will often lay a second egg and have a second brood during the breeding season. For this reason you can concurrently observe chicks of all different sizes and stages of development within the colony.
Gannet behaviour is unique and fascinating to observe. The high density of birds in the colony make communication a survival necessity and the Gannets do so through tactile, visual and auditory channels. Gannet behavioural displays provide interesting photo opportunities for the bird photographer. I would highly recommend before travelling to Bonaventure Island that you take time to study Northern Gannets and familiarize yourself with their behaviour. This will allow you to better recognize what is unfolding in the colony and help you compose and capture the signature Gannet behaviours.
Fencing is perhaps the most easily recognized behaviour and is an important mating ritual. Gannet pairs extend their necks with beaks pointed skyward and delicately touch their bills together in a fencing motion. This activity always takes place at the nesting site. Fencing provides an excellent opportunity for that classic Gannet shot as shown in these next images.
To capture fencing effectively, a low angle is required to separate the Gannets from the other birds and also create a clear back ground to enhance the photographic result.
Yes, that means lying down in order to ‘get the shot’, but it’s always worth that extra effort!
You can see and sense the affection these birds share with each other, which as monogamous couples they do for life.
Although this next image lacks any eye contact (a bird photographer’s no no) it has become a favourite of mine with its artistic feel.
Mutual preening is another important mating ritual. The Gannet pair caresses and smooths the other’s feathers, typically around the head and neck.
They will preen each other for extended periods of time.
Unfortunately, fighting is common amongst Gannets, sometimes between pairs and more often with other Gannets that venture too close to a neighbouring nest. When fighting the birds anchor their claws into the ground and extend their necks to fight with their beaks. It often appears that they are attempting to jab the opponent’s eyes.
Threat-gaping, menacing and jabbing are related behaviours usually between Gannets on adjacent nests, where from a sitting position the birds jab towards each other while making lots of noise. There is generally no contact between the birds.
The last behaviour we will look at is called sky pointing and is thought to signal to a mate that the pointing partner is going to leave and the other is to stay and guard the nest. It is also performed by any Gannet in the colony who is about to take flight. When sky pointing, the neck is extended and bill pointed skyward, the wings are drawn back and the feet are prominently displayed with their bright green lines on black webbing.
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The Gannets of Bonaventure Island feed primarily on Mackerel, Herring and Capelin and they consume lots of them. It is estimated that each bird consumes 500 g of fish daily and that the annual fish consumption of the Bonaventure colony is 3,100 tons or 6.2 million pounds. It is fascinating to watch Gannets fish as they always do so in groups. Look-out birds scout the ocean for schools of fish and once found they must signal the others as large groups of Gannets quickly congregate overhead and then with pin point accuracy dive into the school of fish from impressive heights and at great speed. This style of group diving, sometimes described as hailstorm fishing causes panic and disorientation within the school of fish and it is thought that this greatly improves the Gannet’s success rate compared to fishing alone.
The following images show the classic diving sequence of the Northern Gannet. These images were taken from the pier in the town of Percé which is where the ferries leave for Bonaventure Island. The waters between Percé and Bonaventure are sheltered and thus are a prime fishing location for the Gannets.
A Gannet cruising high above the water spots a target, puts the brakes on and prepares to begin its dive.
The dive begins with Bonaventure Island looming in the back ground
Gannets begin their dives approximately 100′ above the water and use their outstretched wings to steer them directly towards the target.
The wings remain fully extended until just before impact.
As they are about to enter the water they begin to quickly draw back their wings.
At the time of impact the wings are drawn fully back and neck is extended and the Gannet looks more like a torpedo that the very large pelagic bird it is.
The speed of the Gannet at impact with the water is 100 km/h and even at that speed, the large size and buoyancy of the bird only allows it to reach depths of five or six feet. They catch their prey while returning to the surface.
As we conclude this post I will leave you with some portraits and in flight images of the Northern Gannet. I trust these help give you an appreciation for this great bird of Bonaventure Island.
When given the opportunity, attempt to photograph birds against different back grounds which greatly influences the photographic results. The photo above has the sky as the background while the image below uses the water.
A unique pose with both eyes visible. Not a common occurrence in bird photography.
The long and slender wings of the Gannet make it ideally designed for gliding and riding the thermals that move up the cliffs on which they nest. This also allows the large and heavy Gannet to cover large distances with minimal effort.
A Gannet slowing down after spotting its nest location.
Capturing two birds in flight in the same frame with both in focus is a difficult challenge but the perseverance required paid off….eventually!
They truly are a photogenic species.
A Gannet cruising low over the colony before heading out to fish.
An in flight acrobat, slowing down and looking for the nest.
An affectionate couple guarding their nest.
Gannets normally dwell on cliffs but when there is no real estate left on the cliffs they occupy the plateaus atop the cliffs. They quickly denude the plateaus of vegetation and don’t often stray into grassy areas except to gather nesting material, or to offer the gift of grass to a potential partner, as an offer to build a nest together. It was a treat to find this Gannet with grass in its beak.
Apparently the object of his desire wasn’t overly interested in his kind offer!
The maestro pose against a natural gradient background.
And a final tight portrait of the Northern Gannet with its steel eye and intense blue eye ring.
Deb and I have had the opportunity to visit Percé and Bonaventure Island each of the past two summers to photograph Northern Gannets. We both highly recommend that you make the effort to travel to the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, not only to see the Gannets but to explore this very unique and beautiful part of our great country. You won’t be disappointed. If you want any Gaspé travel tips don’t hesitate to contact me as I’d be glad to help!
Our last blog post chronicled the Atlantic Puffins that make Machias Seal Island their home for a few weeks every year to nest and produce the next generation of Puffins. That post also included Arctic Terns that successfully bred on the small island in the mouth of the Bay of Fundy for the first time in many years. If you missed reading the blog you can find it here.
Two other pelagic (ocean faring) species that also nest on Machias Seal Island are the Common Murre and the Razorbill. Both of whom happily share the same nesting areas along with the Atlantic Puffins and they all seem to get along rather famously. It was not uncommon to see all three birds occupying a perch on the same boulder.
The Common Murre is a member of the Auk family of birds and is larger than the Puffin, averaging about 18″ in length with a wingspan just over two feet. They are quick but not very agile in the air reaching speeds of up to 50 mph. Murres actually prefer diving to flying and they have been recorded at depths of almost 600 feet. They generally stay submerged for one minute but can double that if necessary. Murres are pursuit divers and cover approximately 100′ of range with every dive, using their wings to propel themselves as they chase their prey.
The Common Murre pictured below is referred to as a bridled Murre because of its white eye ring that forms a posteriorly trending eyeline. This unusual feature is found among Murres that breed in the Northern Atlantic regions.
Not as agile in the air as the Puffin however they are quick and will travel long distances in search for food.
The Razorbill is another bird from the Auk family and is actually the closest living relative to the now extinct Great Auk. Razorbills are pelagic birds and like Puffins and Common Murres, are monogamous colonial breeders that only come to land once each year to lay one egg that is equally incubated by both parents for approximately one month. Razorbills are about the same size as Common Murres and larger than the Atlantic Puffin as can be seen in the image below.
Razorbills have thick blunt bills that set them apart from Common Murres who otherwise appear quite similar although the Razorbill’s head is a darker shade of black. With black eyes and the absence of an eye ring, it was extremely difficult to visualize the eyes of the Razorbill when photographing them. This next image is my favourite as the bird landed on a boulder that allowed a nice low angle from the blind we were in while on Machias Seal Island.
Razorbill numbers are trending lower over recent years and they are now listed as ‘Near Threatened’.
A Razorbill showing off and demonstrating its larger size compared to the Puffin in the foreground.
The average lifespan of the Razorbill is 13 years however one banded bird in the United Kingdom has lived for more than 41 years which is an amazing record. I like this environmental in flight shot of the Razorbill with the classic rocky shoreline the Razorbills colonize every year during breeding season in the background.
It may be just me but the Razorbill seems to enjoy wings that are proportionately longer than the Common Murre and Atlantic Puffin giving a more graceful appearance in flight.
Razorbills have the longest tail feathers of the Auks which extend past the feet in flight. You can see this clearly when comparing the image below with the Common Murre in flight image shown previously.
All the images in this post were taken with either a Canon 1Dx with 100-400 L IS II lens or a Canon 5D Mk III with 500 f4 L IS lens, hand held from a blind.
I trust you have enjoyed this brief post highlighting the Common Murre and Razorbill, that colonize Machias Seal Island in June and July each year along with the Atlantic Puffin. If you have never seen these birds I would highly recommend you plan your next vacation through the fabulous Canadian Maritime provinces and set aside a few days within your vacation for an excursion to Grand Manan and Machias Seal Islands. You won’t be disappointed.
This past summer Deb & I ticked an item off the bucket list by travelling to Machias Seal Island to observe and photograph some of the 5,000 pairs of Atlantic Puffins that return to the island every summer to nest. While on the island we also had the privilege of seeing Arctic Terns, Common Murres and Razorbills.
Machias Seal Island is a small island located in the Lower Bay of Fundy about 12 miles south west of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick and 10 miles south east of Cutler Maine. Access to the island during nesting season is restricted to fifteen people at a time who are allowed on the island for a two hour period, most of which is spent in one of four blinds to which you are escorted by the lighthouse keeper who is the only resident of the island. There has been a Canadian lighthouse keeper on the island almost continually since the first lighthouse was built in 1832.
Only two charter companies have permission to deliver people to Machias Seal Island. Bold Coast Charter Company departs from Cutler Maine and Sea Watch Tours, with whom Deb & I went with, operates from Seal Cove on Grand Manan Island in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
Grand Manan Island by itself is a destination location for anyone wishing to experience maritime life and cuisine at its finest. Deb & I stayed for a couple of nights at The Inn at Whale Cove Cottages and it was the perfect spot.
Arriving at the Sea Watch Tours dock in Seal Cove we met Captain Peter Wilcox, who owns Sea Watch Tours, and his First Mate Durlan Ingersoll.
Our boat, The Day’s Catch, is a lobster fishing boat that Captain Wilcox converts for taking bird watchers and photographers to Machias Seal Island during the Puffin nesting season in July. As there are only minimal landing facilities on Machias Seal Island, the Day’s Catch tows a small tender, The Little Catch, which shuttles people from the big boat to the rocky shore of the island. Below are our rides for the day, the Day’s Catch and the Little Catch.
Due to rough seas and primitive docking facilities successful landing on the island occurs about 60% of the time so although it was very foggy we were thrilled to be able to set foot on the island. Here is Deb with the Little Catch in tow behind her.
The Day’s Catch, although spending most of its time fishing for lobster, became the perfect boat for the ninety minute trip to Machias Seal Island from Grand Manan, with plenty of room for the 15 passengers on board as seen by these next two images taken with the Fuji X-E2 and 8mm Samyang fisheye lens.
If you have never used a fisheye lens I would highly recommend getting one. They have surprising versatility and the unique perspective they provide often results in compelling images.
After the fifteen excited birders and photographers were successfully shuttled from The Day’s Catch to the shore we were escorted by the lighthouse keeper to a staging area where the practices and procedures were explained to us. This video follows our brief walk to the lighthouse and you will see and hear some birds flying overhead.
If you looked closely at the video you will have noticed the birds are not Puffins but surprisingly were Arctic Terns. These birds from the north had successfully nested in the lighthouse keepers vegetable garden….the first time Arctic Terns had done so in quite a while. Here is a young Arctic Tern and one of its parents sleeping in the garden. A rare sight.
It was a pleasure to capture two adults in an overhead aerial display. They are beautiful birds, not often observed at such close range. Always have your camera at the ready!
The next video shows one of the four blinds on the island and gives you an idea of how many Puffins are in the area and also how vocal they are. Notice the very small size of the ports in the blinds, barely large enough for a big lens to peek through, but necessarily small so our human forms would not be visible to the Puffins and provide the opportunity for them to become acclimated to us. Care was taken to only open the camera ports on one side of the blind at a time to prevent creation of sight lines enabling the Puffins to see through the blinds which could result in them flying into the blinds as opposed to perching on the roof as seen in the video!
Great care is taken by those governing the island to ensure that human impact on the Puffins is kept to an absolute minimum, which is good practice at all times when interacting with animals in the wild.
It’s not my normal practice to shoot from a blind, so it was difficult to know what gear to select for that critical hour during which I didn’t want to waste any time with the wrong lens combinations. After much thought it was decided to take three bodies; a Canon 5D MkIII with a 500mm lens for portraits (plus a 1.4 x TC for an effective 700mm if needed), a Canon 1Dx with the new 100-400mm zoom lens for capturing Puffins in flight and a Fuji X-E2 with a 55-200mm Fujinon zoom that Deb used for stills and video. The blind was too small for a tripod so we opted to bring a monopod however it proved impractical when shooting through such a small opening in the blind. This means that we spent the hour standing in the blind hand holding some pretty heavy equipment although it wasn’t that bad as the time raced by while we concentrated on getting that ‘perfect’ image (which has yet to happen after decades of trying). We utilized the first twenty minutes taking portraits and perched shots and the remaining time was devoted to my favourite photography niche, capturing birds in flight.
Puffins are sometime referred to as the parrots of the sea because of their appearance and affable character. They have a rather mischievous look even when they are resting which I think is captured in this first image.
Photographing black and white birds is technically challenging as it is difficult to find an exposure that retains detail in both the black and white feathers. Typically if you expose for detail in the blacks you overexpose the whites and if you expose for the whites you underexpose the blacks, both of which result in unacceptable results. Getting acceptable exposures in strong sunny lighting conditions is virtually impossible. So although we experienced a foggy overcast day, the subdued lighting created by the fog was a blessing for photographing the Puffins.
These next three images demonstrate the importance of thinking about back grounds and other elements in the image beyond the subject. Preference is subjective, but you must be intentional in acquiring a variety of backgrounds allowing you to enjoy the privilege of choosing that preference!
A mid-toned back ground.
A light back ground provided by the sky is fairly easily obtained by lowering the camera position and shooting in an upward trajectory. This changing angle of incidence also subtly affects the perspective of the bird as can be seen in these images.
The dark back ground. Care needs to be taken such that good differentiation exists between the bird (the black sections of the Puffin) and the dark back ground.
Although Puffins are quite independent while at sea, they are very social during the nesting season, clowning around with each other and creating a cacophony of sound that just can’t be described. It is difficult to capture the feel of the Puffin community with photographic stills but I trust these next few images provide a glimpse of Puffin life on Machias Seal Island.
In the image below, if you look carefully along the lower edge of the upper mandible you will notice a number of spear like bristles towards the base of the beak. These serve as small spikes that the Puffin uses to hold fish sideways in its beak and transport them back to the nest to feed the hungry young chick. The Puffin is able to catch fish sequentially, lock each one into place and continue fishing until the beak is full. This amazing design also allows the Puffin to fish at great distances away from the nest if necessary. Although the record number of fish observed in a single Puffin’s beak is 62, they typically average about ten.
Puffins often playfully spar with their beaks creating a percussive clacking sound.
As with people, each group appears to have a contrarian!
The Puffins seem quite inquisitive towards each other, perhaps because other than during nesting season they are primarily solitary birds. They are highly interactive making them a pleasure to watch.
Capturing birds in flight is a passion of many bird photographers and most of our time in the blind was spent attempting to get that special shot of a Puffin in flight. In-flight bird photography is technically difficult as it involves panning the camera to follow the target as flies through your field of view. It is also a challenge for the auto focusing system of the camera to keep tracking the bird and keeping it clearly in focus. Attempting to capture good in flight images while shooting through the small window in the blind complicated things significantly, however when you deal with the challenges presented and get a few decent images, it is always worth the effort.
This first image is more to show the bird’s environment than the bird itself. It is always good to begin with a few ‘environmental’ images of every species you photograph as it helps provide a better context for understanding of the animal’s world. During breeding season Puffins build their nests on the ground deep in the crevasses between the boulders that rim the island. If you look closely you will see this incoming Puffin’s mate poking her head above the rock that is protecting their nest and its precious contents (Puffins typically lay one egg and thus raise one new bird each year).
The little wings and rather rotund bodies suggest Puffins would be awkward in the air, but the opposite is the case as they are very quick straight line flyers reaching speeds of up to 55 mph with a wing beat frequency of 400 per minute.
Puffins are not large birds at about ten inches in length and weighing around a pound. The only time they are together is during nesting season. During the rest of the year they are typically solitary birds on the ocean, not meeting up with their mate until they arrive at same nest they left the year earlier.
When photographing birds in flight it is desirable to record captures with various wing positions creating uniquely different images that also allows one to study the primary feather characteristics thoroughly. The ventral under side of the wing is generally lighter in colour.
While the dorsal or top side is typically darker. It is thought that the white underside and dark top side of the Puffin provides protection from predation by making the Puffin hard to visualize from below by water dwelling predators and equally hard to see by raptors from above.
The bright orange feet of the Puffin are tucked neatly under the tail feathers during flight however they are exposed as the Puffin prepares to land at its nesting site. Located towards the end of the bird and with their large size they are ideally suited for swimming. Puffins are very agile swimmers and have been recorded at great deaths below the surface.
Normally Puffins consume the Sand Eels and Herring they enjoy as they catch them. The exception to this pattern occurs every summer when they are feeding the new addition to their family. For a period of six weeks or more after the chicks hatch and before they fledge, the parents take turns heading out to sea and returning with a beak full of fish. This small window of time also affords the photographer the opportunity to catch a Puffin in flight returning to the nest with a fresh supply of fish for the young Puffin chick. This was the reason we planned our summer road trip when we did….to hopefully be provided the opportunity to capture this classic image of a Puffin with its catch.
Seeing these images on the camera LCD was a thrill and well worth the time and effort required to get to Machias Seal Island.
Given the uniqueness of the Puffin’s appearance it is impossible not to take some tight portraits. There well deserve their nicknames of ‘ocean clown’ or ‘parrot of the sea’.
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Even though we planned well and were good stewards of our time in the blind, the hour passed very quickly and it was soon time to be escorted back to the docking area where Captain Peter was waiting to shuttle us back to the Day’s Catch for the return trip to Grand Manan. The video that follows provides a glimpse of just how foggy it was. The gentleman in the green T-shirt is Ralph Eldridge, one of the lighthouse keepers who lives on the island for one month at a time. He is also a superb photographer and Puffin expert. You can see his impressive photography via this link to his website.
It was a foggy trip home but the Day’s Catch was filled with fourteen people excited to share their Puffin stories with each other and looking forward to see what they had captured on their CF & SD cards.
After spending one more night at the Inn at Whale Cove Cottages we boarded the ferry for the return trip to Blacks Harbour, continuing on to Prince Edward Island and then the little town of Percé on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, famous for Percé Rock and Bonaventure Island – home to the second largest Northern Gannet colony in the world and our next bird photography adventure. If you haven’t already subscribed to our mailing list, please take time now to do so and we will let you know when the Gannet blog is posted.
Thanks for taking time to check out this post which I trust has piqued your interest in these wonderful little birds…. hopefully enough for you to plan a trip to Grand Manan and Machias Seal Islands for your next summer holiday.
Well we find ourselves in the middle of September and realizing that another summer has slipped away seemly a little faster than the one that preceded it. For me also came the sad realization that there has not been a blog post on this website since May which certainly wasn’t by design. I will do my best to get caught up processing the images that have been taken over the past few months, starting with the Loons that Deb and I had the privilege of photographing in Algonquin Park in June of this year.
There is nothing ‘common’ about the Common Loon. One of our country’s favourite birds whose presence on our dollar coin provides its nickname; the Loonie. Deb and I have been following nesting Loons in Algonquin Provincial Park for a number of years now and this year it was a pleasure to time our trip perfectly to be able to capture some photographs while the babies were still small enough to enjoy riding on the parent’s back.
All of the images in this post were taken handheld from a canoe, providing a nice low angle of incidence which is appealing for bird photography.
Early morning is the best light for photographing Loons with the low sun highlighting their deep red eyes and typically the waters are calm making for nice reflections. The green back ground is created by the reflection of the shoreline vegetation on the water and when possible it is always a good idea to position yourself to create different combinations of lighting on the bird and back ground colour. The effects can be dramatic. These next two images are of the same Loon with a very different look due to the back ground colour.
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Common Loons are a pleasure to watch and hearing their distinctive calls is like no other bird. The following images are an attempt to capture the activities of these beautiful birds.
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As hinted in the title of this post, this Loon photography excursion was also the first practice session with a new camera body; the Canon 1Dx. This particular body is design optimized for sports and wildlife photography or any activity where you are attempting to capture objects moving quickly through the field of view. It accomplishes this by having a very high frame rate. The 1Dx is capable of taking exposures at 12 frames per second in RAW format and 14 frames per second in JPEG format. This makes the camera ideal for photographing birds in flight and I was glad that a Loon obliged us with a fly by close to our canoe. Here are two in flight captures of the Loon taken with the 1Dx and Canon EF 500mm f4 IS lens, handheld from the canoe which is quite a challenge, however like anything, practicing enhances the results.
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Now that I have upgraded to the new camera, my Canon 1D Mk III is up for sale and if any of you are looking for a great camera body and looking to move up to a professional grade body, this could be the perfect opportunity for you. It comes with all the original packaging and is looks just like it did when it was brand new. Send me an email if you are interested and I will send the details and pics of it. The 1D Mk III is a 10 frame per second, 10 megapixel camera.
Sometimes when you take a lot of pics you get some pleasant surprises when processing the images. This next image, and the last one in today’s post, is one of those shots and its become my favourite photograph from our morning with the Loons. The reason being, I didn’t notice the day old chick poking its head out from under the protective cover of mom or dad’s wing until seeing the image displayed on the monitor. I trust you enjoy it as well.
Peek-A-B00
There are a number of other Loon images from our day in Algonquin Park posted in the Loons & Grebes Gallery as well as Loon photographs taken at other times.
Thanks for taking time to work through this post and as always your comments are welcomed.
In October Deb & I were able to free up five days and get away to visit one of our favourite places – California – and more specifically Deb’s favourite spot in California, Huntington Beach, which is located on the Pacific Coast about 40 miles south of Los Angeles along the Pacific Coast Highway.
From a photographer’s perspective The Golden State offers a plethora of opportunities amongst some of the most varied subject material anywhere in the world. We will see but a few of them in this post. The interesting thing about this trip was that for the first time since I was a teen, I didn’t have an SLR or DSLR with me, instead using a mirrorless Fujifilm X-E2 body with an array of six lenses ranging from 8mm to 200mm in focal length. This new Fuji system is arguably one of the best travel camera gear set ups available today as the image quality rivals that of any professional DSLR system and is significantly smaller and lighter, two valuable premiums while travelling. In fact, the X-E2, six lenses and all the associated trinkets (SD cards, Intervalometer, spare batteries and charger) easily fits into my Crumpler Six Million Dollar Home shoulder bag and weighs in at about one third of what the comparable Canon gear weighs. Needless to say, all of the images in today’s post were taken with the X-E2 and I will try to select some images taken with each lens. Although this post is not designed to critically evaluate the Fuji X-mount system, I trust it does give you a flavour of what the camera is capable of, which is impressive, and although it will never replace the Canon gear, it does provide a very capable adjunct to it.
Heading north from LAX along the Pacific Coast Highway you first encounter Marina Del Ray, Los Angeles’ largest marina. On the north side of the marina is the start of Venice Beach which seamlessly runs into the Santa Monica beach and its very famous pier.
The well known Venice Beach Logo staking its claim to the beach.
Venice Beach is one of the most eclectic beaches in the world and attracts people of every conceivable stripe which creates a most unusual beach side community. It is also famous for Muscle Beach which is an outdoor, on the beach, weight training facility started in the 1930’s (just south of the Santa Monica Pier) and relocated to Venice Beach in 1950.
An artistic impression of the stylized concrete bar-bells at Muscle Beach.
Hundreds of small shopping stalls line the walkways of Venice Beach and there are no shortages of places to purchase anything that has to do with life on the beach. Sunglasses anyone?
The California Coastal Beaches are exceedingly wide with perfect soft sand, so beach volleyball courts abound. At Venice Beach there are also expansive skate parks and paddle ball courts, but long before these were popular, Venice Beach had hand ball courts pictured below.
Just a quick photographic aside re these two pics of the hand ball courts. Always think about the foreground (and back ground) elements of every image you take. Doing so will improve your skills immeasurably. Although these two images will never be more than snapshots in our travel album, I waited for a number of minutes in both cases for cyclists to pass through the frame and exposed the image when they were positioned where I wanted them compositionally. The cyclists are not the object of the image but add a touch to the final result that makes the whole image a little more interesting.
The ever present California surfer.
I think I’d rather be swimming.
The Venice Beach area is rather devoid of graffiti, except in the designated graffiti area in which every inch of available real estate is tagged.
The Santa Monica Pier immediately north of Venice Beach.
The famous Route 66 or Will Rogers Highway covers almost 4,000 km beginning in Chicago and ending on the Santa Monica Pier.
Looking out along the pier standing on the original site of Muscle Beach.
Heading north from Santa Monica you pass through Malibu with its amazing beach front properties which are home to the rich and famous. As you progress north along the Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu the urban areas transition into more natural terrain and you find one of California’s most recognized vistas, seen regularly on movies, TV shows and automobile commercials.
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As this view is often associated with car scenes in movies and commercials, it was necessary to get an image from the road’s perspective. With Deb watching for cars I was able to catch a shot from the road.
After spending most of the day on the beaches we headed up Sunset Boulevard from Malibu and walked around Rodeo Drive, the shopping area for the uber-rich which also makes it a great place for car watching 🙂
Here is a $2,000,000 Bugatti Veyron, the world’s fastest production car with over 1,000 horsepower and a top speed of 257 mph from its 8L V-16 engine with four turbo chargers.
Here is what it looks like from behind and also an image that is included solely for my great friend Arni, who I know will get a chuckle from this picture.
After looking but not buying anything on Rodeo Drive we headed for Palm Springs, a beautiful spot in the Sonoran Desert about 175 km east of Los Angeles in the Coachella Valley bounded on all sides by rugged mountain ranges. We arrived in Palm Springs well after dark, so the photography options were few, however here is a view of the entrance to our hotel, which was the perfect spot to stay. We had a cabana suite which was fabulous.
I was intrigued by the Palm Springs mural in the above shot so we set out to find it and fortunately it was very close to the entrance road to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway which was on the agenda for our fist day’s activity.
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is on the north side of Palm Springs and provides a wonderful eleven minute ride to a mountain peak which offers a 360° view of the region. The Tramway took over 26 months to construct beginning in 1961 and opening in June 1963. Since then over 20 million people have taken the trip to the peak. The gondolas used today are among the largest in the world with room for 80 passengers and the floor of the gondola rotates through two complete revolutions as you traverse the mountain.
The gondola docked at the summit, notice the water pouring out of the base of the tram. Hundreds of gallons of fresh water are taken to the top with every trip and stored in a large reservoir. The only source of water at the peak.
Looking down to the valley from the tram.
One of our favourite places to hike is in Joshua Tree National Park which is about an hours drive east of Palm Springs. This year we were able to watch a beautiful sunset inside the park in an area where the Mojave & Colorado Deserts converge. The first image is just after sundown with the silhouette of a Joshua Tree, which is not really a tree nor a cactus, but its own unique plant.
The use of a fisheye lens with its unique distortion pattern and 180° FOV (field of view) makes for some interesting cloud formations.
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Leaving Joshua Tree National Park we headed west for the 150 km drive to Huntington Beach on the Pacific coast where we spent a couple of days enjoying walking the beaches and keeping our FitBits happy.
Sunrise is a very special part of each day, yet sadly an event that I miss other than while on vacation. You just know its going to be a good day when you take the time to watch the sunrise….its kind of like watching God turn the lights on for another day He has planned for you. Here is the view from our hotel room at the Hilton on Huntington Beach.
The landmark that dominates Huntington Beach is its large pier that extends well it into the Pacific Ocean and provides the perfect location for Ruby’s restaurant at the very western most reach of the pier.
Fishermen and women line the end of the pier and although they are perched some thirty feet above the water they quite adeptly retrieve their catch although the ever-present gulls will try to take the fish from the lines while they are being reeled in. If you are an expert you can handle five lines simultaneously!
Walking along the beach beneath the pier also provided for some interesting photographic opportunities. The next two images were taken from pretty much the exact same spot, the only variable being the focal length of the lens. The first was taken with an 8mm fisheye lens and the second with a 55mm lens. They serve as a good example to always carry a number of lenses with you and when you find an interesting subject take some time to experiment with different focal lengths. The results can be surprising and tell very different stories. (A cautionary note; always be careful and minimize the likelihood of letting salt spray and sand get at your sensor when changing lenses. Face your back to the water and the wind and use a towel to create a tent around the camera. Face the camera body downwards and minimize the time the camera and lenses will be exposed to the air. Over the years Deb and I have developed a very efficient ‘four handed’ system for quickly changing lenses).
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Just after sunset.
….and a few more of the pier.
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Long after the sun has set. Use very small apertures (f18-22) to create the starburst effect on the floodlights. This requires long time exposures which also has the added benefit of blurring the water which helps soften the fore ground and creates reflections on the water. The number of rays emanating from the light sources is determined by the number of blades in the diaphragm of the lens (which are used to set the aperture of the lens). With lenses having an even number of blades, there is one ray produced per blade, while an odd number of blades produces two rays per blade. If you take time to count the rays in the following images you will see there are 14 rays around each light source created by the seven diaphragmatic blades in the Fuji XF55-200mm lens I was using. Have a look in the Naturescapes Gallery for a similar image taken a few years ago of the same pier with the Canon 24-105mm lens which has eight diaphragm blades producing eight rays from each light source. You will notice the effect is quite different, so based on your preference you may want to inquire as to the number of blades in the diaphragm of the next lens you buy….or better yet buy two similar focal length lenses, one with an even number of blades and one with an odd number!!
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As mentioned earlier this trip was the first time I’d ever travelled without any Canon gear, which also means no specialized equipment for bird photography. For this Californian excursion all bird photography would be with the Fuji X-E2 and the 55-200mm zoom lens. We headed north to the Bolsa Chica Conservancy looking for some birds to practice with and although it was a quiet birding day there were a number of Brown Pelicans fishing in the wetlands.
Although the keeper rate was low compared to the Canon, the slow flying Pelicans did afford a few decent in flight photo ops.
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We had a wonderful few days in California and look forward to our next trip west. Travelling with the new Fuji mirrorless camera system exceeded my expectations and I trust this blog post has given you an idea of capabilities of this type of gear. Images in this post ranged from 8-200mm focal lengths and covered a wide range of photographic challenges. I’m not of the opinion that this new breed of camera will replace the DSLR, however it does provide a superb travel gear system that is fully able to meet virtually every photographic challenge and do so with gear that is less conspicuous, much lighter and yet retains superb image quality.
I’m still a Canon guy but do like the Fuji….a lot!
Although this last shot was taken through some dirty glass windows at LAX, Deb & I enjoyed our last sunrise in California while waiting to board our plane for the rather long flight home.
This summer my parents and Deb & I travelled around the Gaspé Coast of Quebec and as part of the vacation stayed in the little hamlet Percé, famous for the rock from which it takes its name, Percé Rock. Not far from Percé Rock lies Bonaventure Island which is well known in the birding world as it is home to the world’s second largest, and most accessible, nesting site of the Northern Gannet. You can see Bonaventure Island in the back ground of this image of Percé Rock.
We were in Percé for two and a half days, so we could be reasonably assured to be able to take the short ferry ride over to the island to photograph the Gannets in community and maintaining their nests. Unfortunately heavy rains on the first day and high winds on the second precluded us from getting to there…..it was a classic case of “so close but yet so far”, which is often the nature of wildlife and landscape photography. The upside is that we can plan a return trip to once again see the beauty of the Gaspé Coast.
In terms of the Gannets, all was not lost as I was able to spend a couple of hours on the end of the ferry pier enjoying the high winds and photographing the odd Gannet that flew overhead while looking for fish! They are a truly a beautiful bird.
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The Northern Gannet is a rather large bird measuring up to 43″ long, weighing almost eight pounds and enjoying a six foot wingspan. Although large, it is famous for its torpedo like diving style which allows it to strike the water surface at speeds up to sixty miles per hour. As noted above Gannets are primarily white with black wing tips in their adult plumage. When younger they are a uniformly brown colour and gradually take on the adult colouration when they are fully mature at about five years of age. In adults the colour of the head, cheeks and upper neck is variable depending on the time of year and during breeding season they become a beautiful golden yellow colour, which perfectly compliments their aqua blue eyes.
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When photographing sea birds, the typical background is water & sky, however it was a pleasure to capture one bird against the greenery of the forest as if flew behind me on the pier.
The Gannet has many unique and interesting design features that allow it function on the sea with maximum efficiency. Its wings are proportionally long and slender, and it fact weaker than most birds. As a general rule a bird’s wing muscles comprise at least 20% of their muscle mass, while the Northern Gannet is only 13%. Even still they are capable of cruising at speeds of up to 50 mph and can dive much faster than that. The next image highlights the long slender wings.
There are many other amazing design features of the Gannet that allow it to dive efficiently and also protect it from the water impact pressure when it strikes the surface at high speeds. They have no external nostrils and the secondary internal nostrils can be closed when under the water. Also their external auditory canals are small, covered by feathers and can be closed by a mechanism similar to the one used to close the nostrils. Perhaps the most remarkable diving protection enjoyed by the Gannet is its longer than usual sternum which guards the internal organs from direct impact pressure. Equally impressive are a series of inflatable air sacs, connected to the lungs which line the sides and back of the Gannet as well as between the sternum and pectoral muscles, further cushioning the impact pressure as the bird enters the water.
Gannets fly in fairly large groups about fifty to sixty feet above the water looking for schools of fish to feed on. You can see in this next image a few of the Gannets have spotted some fish below and are initiating their dive.
Gannets Fishing
When a Gannet spots a target fish it quickly applies its air brakes and locks on to its acquired target, which is seen in this next shot.
The next series of images shows the Northern Gannet in various stages of its dive (taken from the same dive sequence).
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And a dive shot from another sequence showing the classic Gannet torpedo posture immediately pre-impact.
The diet of the Gannet is virtually 100% fish although they have known to eat squid opportunistically. They are no respecter of fish and will eat any variety available between the lengths of 1-12″. Interestingly they always swallow the fish while still underwater and will never carry a fish in their bill while inflight. When feeding the young before they fledge, the adults provide regurgitated fish.
When Gannets hit the water at up to sixty miles per hour momentum allows them to penetrate to depths of up to 15′ however they are also able to swim even deeper and have been recorded at depths of up to 45′.
Although we didn’t get to photograph the nesting sites on Bonaventure Island, there are lots of nest there. In fact it is estimated that there are more than 40,000 nests on the island accommodating over 100,000 birds.
All of the images in today’s post were taken with the Canon 5D Mk III with the EF500mm f/4 L IS lens.
I trust you have enjoyed this brief photo exposé of the Northern Gannet of the Gaspé Coast. The Gaspé region is an absolutely fabulous place to visit and if you’ve never been, its one of those destinations that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
To capture fencing effectively, a low angle is required to separate the Gannets from the other birds and also create a clear back ground to enhance the photographic result.
Unfortunately, fighting is common amongst Gannets, sometimes between pairs and more often with other Gannets that venture too close to a neighbouring nest. When fighting the birds anchor their claws into the ground and extend their necks to fight with their beaks. It often appears that they are attempting to jab the opponent’s eyes.
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