Flying the nest, as all teenagers know can be one of the most exciting but also nerve-wrecking times of a young persons life. And it's at this time of year that the Cape Gannet chick goes through exactly that. After approximately three months, they have put on enough weight – making them even heavier than their parents – and are ready to put those strong wings to good use. Beginning life within a pale blue, chalky egg, the Gannet is kept protected and warm by none other than it's parents' feet! Packed with blood vessels, the foot webs wrap gently around the egg, a technique also shared by another member of the Sulidae bird family, the blue-footed booby! And that's not the only common blue thread that connects these sea loving birds. The Gannet also has bluish skin shaped like a ring around their eyes, which explains their other name of the spectacled goose!
Flying the nest, as all teenagers know can be one of the most exciting but also nerve-wrecking times of a young persons life. And it's at this time of year that the Cape Gannet chick goes through exactly that.
After approximately three months, they have put on enough weight – making them even heavier than their parents – and are ready to put those strong wings to good use.
Beginning life within a pale blue, chalky egg, the Gannet is kept protected and warm by none other than it's parents' feet! Packed with blood vessels, the foot webs wrap gently around the egg, a technique also shared by another member of the Sulidae bird family, the blue-footed booby!
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And that's not the only common blue thread that connects these sea loving birds. The Gannet also has bluish skin shaped like a ring around their eyes, which explains their other name of the spectacled goose!
Although the difference between the gannet and the booby species is quite obvious in their appearance and in the temperature of water they prefer – being that boobies can find homes in tropical as well as temperate environments; all members of this family share the ability to perform the breath-taking dives, required when hunting for food.
And this is when we come to realize why the Gannet chicks must be totally prepared before they head out on their own.
By diving from great heights, sometimes as much as 30metres at incredible speeds up to 100km/h, the gannet can pursue fish at much deeper levels than other seabirds. Thanks to unique air sacs that act like protective shields hidden under the skin of the face and chest, to strike of the water is softened, allowing them to "gannet" (a term commonly used to describe being greedy) as much as they can handle.
However it doesn't always end happily with a big feast. Which is why we wish them luck
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