Northern Gannets
Gannets on Heligoland
When we went on our trip to Heligoland in May 2022, we didn’t only go for seals. Perhaps even more spectacular at that time of year in Heligoland, are northern gannets. The bodies of these beautiful birds are streamlined, for plunge-diving at high speed. They hit the water at speeds of upto 100km/h! Their feathers are waterproof, allowing the birds to spend long periods of time in water, also when swimming to catch fish after their dive. They swallow the fish whole, after which they can store it in a branched bag in their throat. Since northern gannets cannot ‘walk’ on land very well and need wind in order to take off, they often nest on cliff edges, allowing them to take off into the wind when ‘stepping’ off of the cliff.
Cliffs are something Heligoland certainly has, long beautiful stretches of red, rocky cliffs. It is on these edges that the northern gannet breeds and nests in around April/May. This leads to most interesting and aggressive behaviour, since the birds fiercely protect their nesting area. Sometimes fights break out, mainly between same sex. The birds lunge at each other and lock bills, while being pecked at by their neighbours. This often results in injuries, and sometimes even in death.
When males have started nesting, females fly over the area several times. They fly in a certain position, with their necks outstretched, informing males that they are ready for courtship. Males will then move their heads from side to side, with their wings closed, in order to attract a female. Once a male and female are mating, they will stand breast to breast with their wings spread out and their bills extended. The make loud noises, while moving their bills rapidly. This behaviour is called fencing.
Everyone is different
We spent hours on Heligoland’s cliffs, watching these birds and their impressive behaviour. There was never a dull moment, since these birds are quite noisy. Their smell is rather unpleasant, but the continuous activity in gathering nesting material, their individual characters becoming clear in the process, certainly made up for it.
For example, some gannets are extremely industrious. They fly back and forth, bringing grass, seaweed, anything they can find as nesting material. One particular gannet, however, seemed quite industrious, but was actually rather lazy. Instead of taking off and diving for seaweed, etc. he would make a whole bunch of raucous, and then hop over to the edges of the nesting area. There, on the cliffs, quite a lot of long grass could be found. The gannet would tear at the grass ferociously, and triumphantly hop back to its partner, its bill full of grass. Its partner would accept it gratefully, of course, but knowing how he had managed to find this ‘gift’, made it quite hilarious for us. So, if you ever have time and would like a relaxing and enjoyable break, Heligoland is the place to be for a few days! Just sit down, watch, and enjoy!