When had a great time winding our way to Muriwai Beach on the wild West Coast of Auckland, to see the new born chicks. What an amazing sight. I could watch for hours as the birds communicate with each other - stroking each others necks, tapping each others beaks, nudging, flapping. I watched one gannet enjoying a piece of seaweed - he was tossing it up in the air and catching it - over and over again. He was watched by two other gannets and the three of us seemed fascinated by the skill of this one gannet. Until one of the intrigued gannets stepped forward, plucked the seaweed from the air above the unsuspecting player, and scurried over to his mistress with it. She proceeded to tuck the seaweed around her chick as if to say 'At last - I thought you would never pluck up the courage?'. No wonder there are people who can study these creatures for a lifetime.
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