Photograph by Andrew Parkinson

Long tied to maritime cultures, gannets are flourishing today in crowded colonies around the North Atlantic.

Photograph by Andrew Parkinson

At Hermaness National Nature Reserve in Scotland's Shetland Islands, adult gannets soar above the coastal churn. Snugly insulated by thick feathers and fat beneath their skin, these far-foraging seabirds are built for life in cold, turbulent northern waters.

Photograph by David Tipling, Biosphoto

Binocular vision lets gannets spy deep fish shoals off the Shetland coast. When the diving birds break the surface, at up to 70 miles an hour, air sacs buffer their heads and chests. Nostrils that seal shut let them dive to depths of 50 feet.

Photograph by Andrew Parkinson

Two adults preen on Ireland's Great Saltee Island. A pair of gannets will usually stay together for years, breeding each year at the same site. On land, partners continually reinforce their bond by touching bills, biting napes, and building nests together.

Photograph by Andrew Parkinson

Colonies where northern gannets breed and raise their young tend to be in windy, dramatic spots, like this ledge at Hermaness. The location puts them close to ocean feeding areas. With ample updrafts, it's also well suited for takeoffs and landings.

Photograph by Andrew Parkinson

A dark plumed juvenile is nearly ready to leave the nest, having grown quickly on a diet of fish—cod, herring, mackerel, smelt—provided by its parents.

Photograph by Andrew Parkinson

Social life in a gannet colony is complex. Amid the constant commotion, families nestle close and will often groom one another—an intimate act known as allopreening that helps defuse tension.

Photograph by Andrew Parkinson

Two landing gannets raise the ire of their Shetland neighbors, a common sight in a hectic colony. But beneath the territorial clamoring is a ritualized order. Nests are arranged in a canny geometry of two per ten square feet—just out of jabbing range.