The Australasian Gannet is a species of sea bird which is widespread along the coasts of New Zealand. It is a native seabird of New Zealand even though after fledging, the chicks of the species fly across the Tasman Sea to Australia to spend the first 4-5 years of their lives there. They then return to the coast of New Zealand to the colonies of their birth to begin their own breeding.
Although we have observed some pretty unsociable behaviour in Australasian Gannets (also known as Morus serrator), such as when a bird returns to a nest but overshoots it and lands on or near anothe, this is an incident which induces a rowdy protest from its neighbours who immediately use brutal force to remove the intruder.
However, when reunited with its mate, there is much tenderness, grooming, and graceful courtship.
Australasian Gannet pair, Morus serrator, greeting each other at the Cape Kidnappers colony, Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand.
I photographed this photo with the digital SLR camera model Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, aperture of f/8.0, exposure time of 1/640 sec. on ISO 100, as always I used a original Canon Lens, the focus lenght for this picture was 400mm.
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