Description
The adult Northern Gannet is quite distinctive in appearance: large and angular, gleaming white with black wing tips. But it can take up to 4 years for the bird to reach this plummage and along the way there in a great deal of variability. Fortunately in this area, there are no other birds to get it confused with, unless it's a stray Booby.

First year birds are generally dark overall. As it gets older, it gets paler. In flight, all Gannets looked pointed at each end with their long, heavy bills and pointy tails. Gannets love to soar along on stiff wings, just above the water, often engaging in spectacular plunge dives for food.

© A & J Binns

Habitat and Distribution
Gannets breed up along the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec and Newfoundland. They move south along the Atlantic Coast reaching as far south as the Gulf of Mexico and are fairly common winter residents along the coast. Best Time to See:
Gannets begin to appear off the south Jersey coast in mid-September ( and off Delaware by October). They continue in this area throughout the winter but their numbers are highly variable. They generally start to move north again in late April/May but a few stragglers may persist into July.

Best Place to :
Depending on wind direction and the nearness of the baitfish, it is often possible to observe gannets from shore. Almost anywhere along the ocean from Barnegat to Avalon to Cape Ma, NJ and in Cape Henlopen (Indian River Inlet), DE.

While generally ocean going birds, Gannets have been recorded as far up the Delaware Bay as Salem Co., NJ.

Links:

• USGS

  Ocean Wanderers

  New England Seabirds