Island of the Gannets

We may associate seabirds with islands – puffins standing sentinel on ledges, guillemots in serried ranks on slim ledges – but this is only a temporary habitat. On land they are edgy, vulnerable to predation. These are, after all, sea birds and the gannet spends most of its life far out there, wheeling against the wind on barely moving, riding the air no matter how turbulent it is. They only rest on the waves when they really have to, and stay far away from shore other than when that ancient...