Chance to take flight with the gannet

Researchers working on the island nature reserve of RSPB Grassholm in Pembrokeshire, Wales, attached miniature cameras to some of the gannets that nest there.

The “gannet cam” footage shows a bird flying high above the Pembrokeshire coastline while ships pass below.

It also shows the bird landing in the bustling colony, skimming low over the water and spectacularly plunging into the 
sea at speed during a feeding 
dive.

The footage was taken by a team led by Steve Votier, from the University of Exeter, and Mark Bolton from the RSPB.

Dr Votier has been carrying out research on the gannets on the tiny island of Grassholm off the Pembrokeshire coast for the last eight years.

The island, just nine hectares in size, is home to the fourth largest northern gannet colony in the world – with just under 40,000 pairs breeding there.

Dr Votier said the footage was obtained using a state-of-the-art miniature camera developed by the RSPB conservation science team. “Seabirds spend most of their time at sea away from their nesting sites, making them difficult to study,” he said.

“This camera really helps shed light on their behaviour away from the colony. For example, it allows us to more accurately investigate their reliance on discards from trawlers and how they interact with other birds while far from land.” Dr Bolton, principal conservation scientist at the RSPB, helped develop the devices.