At just over 25 years old Northern Gannet F13025 didn't set any longevity records for this species, but it is still a very good age for a wild bird that has such a specialist and dramatic way of life, including plunge diving for fish from up to 25 metres or so! I ringed this bird as a chick on Les Etacs, Alderney on 19 June 1990 (the year Nelson Mandela was released from prison or the Simpsons aired for the first time on US TV - just to scale it), and it was found freshly dead at Sonderborg, Denmark in July this year. One can only speculate how many tens of thousands of kilometres that remarkable bird flew in its life-time!
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| Northern Gannets nesting on Les Etacs, Alderney (c) PKV |
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