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A room with a view


A room with a view
Photo Information
Copyright: Pekka Valo (pekkavalo1) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 423 W: 54 N: 2120] (6789)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-05-03
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 40D, Sigma EX 500mm f4.5 APO HSM, RAW ISO 800, Kenko Teleplus Pro 300 DG 1.4x
Exposure: f/11, 1/800 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-05-30 1:22
Viewed: 5520
Favorites: 2 [view]
Points: 58
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
A Northern Gannet nesting at RSPB Bempton Cliffs nature reserve.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus, formerly Sula bassana).

Gannets are seabirds in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.
The gannets are large black and white birds, with long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up to 2 meters. The other two species occur in the temperate seas around southern Africa and southern Australia and New Zealand.
Gannets hunt fish by diving from a height into the sea and pursuing their prey underwater. Gannets have a number of adaptations which enable them to do this:
• they have no external nostrils;
• they have air sacs in their face and chest under their skin which act like bubble-wrap, cushioning the impact with the water;
• their eyes are positioned far enough forward on their face to give them binocular vision, allowing them to judge distances accurately.
Gannets can dive from a height of 30 m, achieving speeds of 100 km/h as they strike the water, enabling them to catch fish much deeper than most airborne birds.
The gannet's supposed capacity for eating large quantities of fish has led to "gannet" becoming a disapproving description of somebody who eats excessively, similar to "glutton".

Mating and nesting
Gannets are colonial breeders on islands and coasts, which normally lay one chalky blue egg. It takes five years for gannets to reach maturity. First-year birds are completely black, and subsequent sub-adult plumages show increasing amounts of white.
The most important nesting ground for Northern gannets is the United Kingdom with about two thirds of the world's population. These live mainly in Scotland. The rest of the world's population is divided between Canada, Ireland, Faroe Islands and Iceland, with small numbers in France (they are often seen in the Bay of Biscay), the Channel Islands and Norway. The biggest Northern gannet colony is in the Scottish islands of St Kilda; this colony alone comprises 20% of the entire world's population. Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth is also famous for its large gannet population.

Systematics and evolution
The three gannet species are now usually placed in the genus Morus, Abbott's Booby in Papasula, and the remaining boobies in Sula, but some authorities believe that all nine sulid species should be considered congeneric, in Sula. At one time, the gannets were considered to be a single species.
• Northern Gannet, (also known as "Solan Goose"), Morus bassanus
• Cape Gannet, Morus capensis
• Australasian Gannet, Morus serrator
Most fossil gannets are from the Late Miocene or Pliocene, a time when the diversity of seabirds in general was much higher than today. It is not completely clear what caused the decline in species at the end of the Pleistocene; increased competition due to the spread of marine mammals and/or supernova activity which led to mass extinctions of marine life are usually assumed to have played a role.
The genus Morus is much better documented in the fossil record than Sula, though the latter is more numerous today. The reasons are not clear; it might be that boobies were better-adapted or simply "lucky" to occur in the right places for dealing with the challenges of the Late Pliocene ecological change, or it could be that many more fossil boobies still await discovery. Notably, gannets are today restricted to temperate oceans while boobies are also found in tropical waters, whereas several of the prehistoric gannet species had a more equatorial distribution than their congeners of today.
nikosrio, Dis. Ac., jusninasirun, jaycee, gracious, jconceicao, Argus, parthasarathi, goldyrs, marhowie, darwin, uleko, Adanac, eng55, Maite, SelenE has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1127 W: 254 N: 3161] (14464)
  • [2008-05-30 1:39]

Hi Pekka,

Superb capture with nice subject,color light and location,hope you did not have to stand on a same ledge of rock to capture this one,thanks and have a nice weekend

Paul

Hello Pekka.
Excellent photo,very sharp with great light and colors,very interesting POV,
regards,
Nikos.

Hello Pekka,

nice view on the breeding Gannet.
Good of clarity and details.
Nice pov.

gert

Hello Pekka,
Quite a view indeed.
Well done
TFS
Annick

Hello Pekka. This is first class top quality image. I like the sharpness and detail of the composition with excellent exposure of the plumage. The rock it is perched is just brilliant and catching the blue sky of the left is awesome. Very well done and thanks for sharing. Best regards. Jusni

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2454 W: 10 N: 8044] (25460)
  • [2008-05-30 8:38]

Hi Pekka,

What a wonderful place to build a nest! Your title is perfect. The Gannet is beautiful - the details, especially of the face, are superb. Marvelous pov and composition.I love the way she is looking out to sea. I'm wondering where you were when you took this shot.

Jane

Hello Pekka,
I loved this shot very much with the best spot of a single gannet with it's comfortable nest!
and the cute fellow is turning it's head with a warm smile, just brilliant!
the image is sharp with good colour and details
many thanks once again
have a great weekend in UK
from NZ, Tony

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
  • [2008-05-30 10:33]

Hello Pekka,
Beautiful photo in an excellent composition and sharpness.
Regards,
Peter

HI Pekka,

Nice shot.Very beautiful colours.Good sharpness with excellent detail.

Hi Pekka, lovely composition with beautiful bird, wonderful colors and splendid sharpness, very well done, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2008-05-31 10:09]

Hello Pekka,
Great title for a fine shot of a Gannet on its nest. The composition with the hanging bit of cliff, the pose, POV, composition and sharpness are all excellent.
TFS this superb image,
Ivan

  • Great 
  • EOSF1 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1393 W: 119 N: 5267] (23955)
  • [2008-05-31 12:55]

Hello Pekka, great shot of the Gannet, the pose and composition are very nice, the details are good and the exposure is very well done, thanks!

Mario

Nice composition and colours.

i like the beautiful pastel colors in this shot. not to mention the wonderful habitat details. TFS!

  • Great 
  • RP1 Gold Star Critiquer [C: 154 W: 1 N: 6] (251)
  • [2008-05-31 16:01]

Hi Pekka,
Superb capture with beautiful colours and composition,
Felicitation,
Roger

A lovely shot, Pekka...The title is sooo apt!How did you get up there?You seem to be slightly higher up than the Gannet, actually!
Excellent shot, my friend!
Goldy

Hello Pekka,

Superb picture of this beautiful Gannet. Excellent composition. Good sharpness. Great natural colours. That is one of my favorite birds.
Cheers,
Mariki

Hi Pekka,
Excellent capture and a most fitting title, I like it.
Great detail/DOF, exposure, colors, and the composition works very nicely here :)
Well done!
Howard

Hi Pekka
Wonderful capture and composition
Superb details and nice natural color
tfs jon

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3396 W: 172 N: 3310] (10940)
  • [2008-06-01 8:18]

Hej Pekka,
WHat a beautiful composition showing this annet on the narrow ledge of the Chalk cliff!
Great focus and excellent sharpness and lovey colours too. Very well done!
Many thanks and cheers, Ulla

Pekka

The colours of the Gannet are awesome and you have more than done tis stunner justice. Well played...

Jai

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1273 W: 1 N: 6188] (21378)
  • [2008-06-01 14:15]

Hello Pekka,
Simply beautiful Image Pekka, straight to my favorites it goes. Fantastic work Sir.
Rick

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1739 W: 224 N: 6872] (24909)
  • [2008-06-02 0:59]

Awesome capture, Pekka!
You show this bird in its nesting environment exceptionally well.
Brilliant composition and pose.
Excellent sharpness and clarity.
Very good DOF.
One of your best!

Very well done!!

Joe

  • Great 
  • PaulH Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1137 W: 26 N: 3879] (13882)
  • [2008-06-02 2:11]

Hi Pekka,
an excellent composition and setting, DOF is very good, as is the exposure too, and all round top shot, well done! I think you would enjoy shooting along my stretch of the coast too1
Paul

  • Great 
  • eng55 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1256 W: 42 N: 1976] (5892)
  • [2008-06-02 3:15]

Hi Pekka,
Beautiful scane.Well caught,framed and composed.Details,pose of bird BG are also perfect.Excellent work!
Thanks for posting.

  • Great 
  • Maite Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 998 W: 65 N: 1270] (5199)
  • [2008-06-02 7:26]

Hello Pekka
What a fantastic capture of this beautiful Northern Gannet in its nest and what an excellent title for the scene! You did a great job in focus, DOF, framing and composition, and very good information too.
Thank you very much for sharing
Greetings
Maite

  • Great 
  • yasin Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 31 W: 1 N: 43] (129)
  • [2008-06-11 2:39]

Hello Pekka,
Excellent composition of A Northern Gannet.
It was so hard to chase that moment. Well done.
TFS.

Yasin

  • Great 
  • SelenE Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2249 W: 65 N: 4205] (13972)
  • [2008-06-13 3:11]

Hi Pekka,
I've missed this one. Looks like an ideal place for a nest. POV, light, details and view are very good. TFS
Have a nice weekend,
Selen

  • Great 
  • deud Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 438 W: 11 N: 534] (2540)
  • [2008-10-31 23:36]

beautiful! nice colors on plumage!
well composed and titled.

tfs

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