Northern Gannets (Morus bassanus) are seabirds, so they spend most of their time at sea and only come ashore to breed. They nest on Les Etacs and Ortac (on the west coast of Alderney) between February and September. Some individuals may stay until mid-October, but the majority migrate to warmer southern areas, including the Bay of Biscay and the west coast of Africa, to avoid the cold winter months between October and January.
Key species of Alderney: Northern Gannet
Northern Gannet - Gary Howes ©
Since the gannets made landfall last week (6 February 2026), we’d love to draw more attention to this charismatic bird of Alderney.
Alderney’s Ramsar site
The gannets of Alderney make up over 1% of the global Northern Gannet population, and their presence and gannetries contribute to the biodiversity of Alderney’s Ramsar site (an internationally important wetland, including the west coast of Alderney and the Burhou islands). Les Etacs is one of the rare places where you can see gannets from the shore. On certain days, when the wind direction and weather conditions are right, you may even catch a whiff of the strong smell and hear the loud, incessant noise of the colony.
Camille Francois
Les Etacs from the shore
Gannets / Photo by Thanh Doan
A general timeline of Northern Gannets in Alderney
Early to mid-February:
Gannets return to Alderney, reunite with their partners (they form lifelong pair bonds), and build their nests.
Cool fact: Gannets nest very close to one another. Neighbouring nests are only about 80 cm apart. From above, their nests look like evenly spaced dots on the rocks.
Gannet / Photo by Bill Black
Mid-April:
Gannets lay their single white egg and take turns incubating it. A gannet egg takes about 42–46 days to hatch.
Gannet / Photo by Vic Froome
June:
Chicks hatch. Hello world! They are covered in fluffy white down. After a few weeks, the white down is replaced by darker plumage. Both parents share responsibility for feeding their chick. Gannets feed mainly on fish, particularly oily species such as mackerel.
Gannet chicks stay in the same spot from the time they hatch until they fledge, as moving around can be dangerous. They may be attacked by neighbouring birds, and gannet parents may not recognise their own chick if it wanders away and tries to return, sometimes attacking it as a result. From around their fifth week, chicks can be as big as, or even bigger than, their parents. This rapid growth helps prepare them for the challenging adventure ahead.
Gannet / AWT staff
August:
Around 13 weeks after hatching, fledglings prepare to jump from the cliffs into the sea. From this point on, they must fend for themselves.
Screenshot gannet cam_Les Etacs in October
September:
Goodbye (for now), Alderney! The gannets head south to warmer waters.
Les Etacs begins to look empty once the gannets have left.
More facts:
- Northern Gannets have a wingspan of about 172 cm and are the largest seabirds in Alderney.
- Their plumage changes over the first five years of life, gradually transforming from dark plumage to white with black wingtips and a yellowish head.
- When were gannets first recorded on Alderney? A pair of gannets was first recorded on Ortac in 1940. Shortly afterwards, the islanders evacuated before the German forces invaded. When Homecomers returned five years later, they found hundreds of gannet pairs breeding on Ortac and Les Etacs. The population has increased since then.
- The outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in 2022 hit Alderney’s Northern Gannet population hard, reducing numbers by an estimated 28%. By 2025, the population showed signs of recovery, having increased by 11% since 2023.
Drone image of Gannets Credit Seabird Watch & Alderney Wildlife Trust
- Since 2024, AWT has started using drones to monitor Alderney’s gannetries with support and guidance from the Seabird Watch Project (Oxford Brookes University). The images collected are stitched together to create 2D and 3D maps of the colonies. Using AI technology, gannets can also be counted automatically. The Trust hopes this approach will reduce the time and effort involved in monitoring compared with traditional methods.
- You can watch Alderney’s Gannet Cam live during the breeding season. You can also visit the Wildlife Information Centre on Victoria Street to adjust the camera angle yourself.
- You can explore gannet trends on the Alderney Biodiversity Centre website.
- If you would like to support the AWT’s work, you can adopt a gannet.
Read more gannet facts here.
Photos (and information) of gannet chicks 2024.