Diving Gannets

Clearpreso

I have seen some Gannets (I think) doing some amazing diving for fish while looking out to Dublin bay from Seapoint, it is truly amazing stuff! Anyone else seen these guys in action? You can hear them hit the water so clearly even though they are so far out, surprised they don't kill themselves each time!

Half-cocked

Saw them around Dalkey Island while fishing at the weekend. There where sandeels in the water so I'd imagine that's what they were after. Very few mackeral around yet, which they would prefer. They can dive from as high as 30 metres, really dramatic to watch.

CJhaughey

They eventually go blind from repeated high speed impact with the water and when they can't see well they starve to death.
They actually swim underwater as well, I think there was an article a few years back about a North Sea diver 100m down who saw gannets swimming around at that depth.

Cardynal

Amazing spectacle to watch , if you get a chance , try and get down to Hook head in Co Wexford in the autumn , hundreds of Gannets diving offshore from the Great Saltee colony.
Regards Tom.

Tabnabs

CJhaughey wrote: »

They eventually go blind from repeated high speed impact with the water and when they can't see well they starve to death.
They actually swim underwater as well, I think there was an article a few years back about a North Sea diver 100m down who saw gannets swimming around at that depth.

The blindness idea made me sceptical and I found this

More than 40 years ago, I spent some time in Oxford University's annex in Bevington Road, where Richard Dawkins (My Week, last week) was fitting distorting spectacles on to day-old chicks in order to study their pecking responses to food particles. At that time I was in the Firth of Forth working on gannets. I extended this to include the blue-footed booby of the Galapagos. The myth that gannets go blind as a consequence of plunge-diving has obviously been extended to boobies and Richard passes it on, though not as a myth. I have concrete evidence from marked individuals that gannets can survive more than 30 years with perfect eyesight. The blindness myth probably arose because gannets and boobies have an opaque 'third eyelid' which they can draw across the eye to protect it from the impact of diving.
Bryan Nelson
Auchencairn
Dumfries & Galloway

source

I guess more research needs to be done?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I enquired about the blindness thing many years ago to be told, by sources I would rely on, that it's another Urban Myth.

LostCovey

Emily Calm Website wrote: »

I enquired about the blindness thing many years ago to be told, by sources I would rely on, that it's another Urban Myth.

I think the other legend about Gannets is actually true - that they have no nostrils so their sinuses and lungs don't explode when they hit the water.

LostCovey

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Gannets have a number of adaptations which enable them dive from up to 30metres:

They have no external nostril.

They have air sacs in their face and chest under their skin which act like bubble wrapping, cushioning the impact with the water.

Their eyes are positioned far enough forward on their face to give them binocular vision, allowing them to judge distances accurately.



Watch for Terns diving this Summer as well. A wonderful sight.

Smartypantsdig

I was working on Lambay Island a few years ago and was totally enthralled by the gannets. They are such a beautiful bird as well. I almost prefer them to puffins.

Wild_Dogger

http://209.197.11.179/x9e4a4k2/cds/images/upload/stories/SR053_08.07.09/video/SR053_08.07.09_QT720_voice.mov?dopvhost=podcast.earth-touch.com&doppl=0ea0186742aa5ae842fa5ab8933f539642fa58e1&dopsig=ad19ded7bbdd6d7820946a8b649063b7


The link is a great video clip of the gannets diving and swimming under water !

just give it a couple of mins to load Its a High definition file, its well worth it !

http://www.earth-touch.com/result.php?i=Baitball-bonanza for the quicker version !

megadodge

CJhaughey wrote: »

They eventually go blind from repeated high speed impact with the water and when they can't see well they starve to death.
They actually swim underwater as well, I think there was an article a few years back about a North Sea diver 100m down who saw gannets swimming around at that depth.

I have my doubts about the emboldened bit also.

I am open to correction but I thought gannets don't venture much further than 10-15metres down?

Wild_Dogger

If you look at the video i posted , you'll see them swim up to 20 metres down .

thats really quite deep !!!

megadodge

Wild_Dogger wrote: »

If you look at the video i posted , you'll see them swim up to 20 metres down .

thats really quite deep !!!

I know it is, but that's my whole point, because 100m is five times deeper and I have serious doubts whether gannets can/do dive that deep.