Muriwai Beach
There are few places to observe a gannet colony without going to some remote island or paying a lot of money for a tour guide. The Australasian Gannet colony at Muriwai Beach in northern New Zealand is one such place. There are 28 colonies in New Zealand, but 25 are on remote islands. Two are in remote parts of the main islands, and you will probably need to go on a guided tour to get there.
At Muriwai Beach, a campground is within walking distance of the gannet colony. I spent three days there observing the gannets. When not gannet watching, it is fun to watch the surfers, which is why most people go to Muriwai Beach. The Australasian Gannet colony here has a population of about 1,500 birds.
Most Australasian Gannet colonies are on offshore islands like this.
Gannets in Love
After the chick hatches, they care for it for six weeks, keeping it warm and feeding it. When the chicks fledge and are able to fly well enough, they leave on a 2,000 km journey to Australia. The babies are white, but by the time they fledge they are a speckled brown colour.
Too much Makeup
The gannets remain in Australia for five years until they become adults. During this time, they turn white with black along the edges of their wings. The tops of their heads and nape are golden-brown. They have black around the eyes and strange-looking green toes. It looks like they are wearing too much eyeshadow and green polish on their toes. Their parents do not go.
After five years, they become breeding adults, return to New Zealand to mate, and never make the trip to Australia again.
It Should be NZ’s National Bird
Perhaps the Australasian Gannet should be New Zealand’s national bird instead of the Kiwi. Many young New Zealanders take off when they are old enough to live and work in Australia for several years. They eventually return, find a spouse, buy a house and spend the remainder of their lives in New Zealand, just like the Gannets.
Muriwai Beach is a great place to observe an Australasian Gannet Colony. The Northern Gannet is very similar to the Australasian Gannet and can be found in eastern Canada, Iceland and northern Europe.