Our group visited Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve- the most accessible seabird colony in North America.  We spent a few hours watching the birds- the site was was overflowing with perching, diving, and scrambling birds from edge to edge.  

Bird Rock is the third-largest nesting site and southernmost colony of northern gannets in North America.

The northern gannet is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae and the largest seabird in the northern Atlantic.  You can see a few juveniles in the photo above- they are mostly grey-brown becoming increasingly white as they mature within five years.

The northern gannet catches fish by making high-speed dives into the sea.

Gannets have excellent binocular vision which allows them to spot fish while hovering over the water.  Once they have spotted their prey, they will fold their wings and dive from a height of up to 40m, reaching speeds of up to 100 kmph.

We also spotted some razorbills, which are similar to thick-billed murres but have a deeper and blunter bill.

To see more photos of the northern gannets and razorbills please click on the link below to the gallery:

https://.../Gannets