The Wildlife of
Culzean Castle

 
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Fulmar, Gannet, Petrels and Shearwaters - The Gannet

First seen on Saturday 6th July 2019 at Culzean Castle

The Gannet is one of our largest seabirds, and they nest in large colonies on nearby Ailsa Craig. They can be seen far out at sea due to their size - they are white, with large black wingtips. My first glimpse of one here was when it dived vertically into the sea - I was watching from one the windows in the Castle, a memorable moment.


 



Although the adults are mostly white, they start life dark all-over and gradually swap dark feathers for white. The one below is an immature one, with a mixture of feather colours.


 

Gannets are spectacular divers. they fold their wings back and enter the water at high speed, travelling underwater for while, chasing the fish. You can see the pale green bubble trail in the final photo below...