We went to
Muriwai Beach on March 28, 2009 for a leisure trip, which is only about 28km from Auckland City.
The sight is simply breath taking and the
Gannetts (a type of migratory bird) made their home here.
There are about four or five places in the world you can find these rare Gannett birds.
Gannets are colonial breeders on islands and coasts, which normally lay one chalky blue egg. It takes five years for gannets to reach maturity. First-year birds are completely black, and subsequent sub-adult plumages show increasing amounts of white.
The most important nesting ground for Northern gannets is the United Kingdom with about two thirds of the world's population. These live mainly in Scotland and the Shetland Isles. The rest of the world's population is divided between
Canada, Ireland, Faroe Islands and Iceland, with small numbers in France (they are often seen in the
Bay of Biscay), the Channel Islands and Norway. The biggest Northern gannet colony is in the Scottish islands of
St Kilda; this colony alone comprises 20% of the entire world's population. Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth is also famous for its large gannet population.
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