This pair of Northern Gannets attempted to build their nest with fresh vegetation on a rock, but it kept getting blown away. This image was made the only time I saw the birds pointed toward me during the six days I was there for my Gannets Galore and so much more workshops; it lasted only a fraction of a second…

**Northern Gannets Nest Building** (Morus bassanus, Fou de Bassan, NOGA) from my GANNETS GALORE WORKSHOP at Bonaventure Island, Quebec, Canada ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens & Sony 1.4X Tele-extender @840mm. ISO 320, f/8 @ 1/80s Manual exposure. Almost full frame image (slightly cropped top to 4 x 5 aspect ratio).

A pair of Northern Gannets “fencing” during my Gannets Galore and so much more workshops in Quebec. After one mate returns to the nest (in this case, the super clean one on the right), Gannets greet each other by facing each other, often touching, calling, and shaking heads side to side as their bills clack together (fencing; think sword-fighting a la “on guard”), bowing, and finally preening each other’s necks.

While I often strive to isolate the subject using a longer focal length, I chose not to increase my reach by switching to the 2X tele-extender after realizing that I love the added interest of the second, out-of-focus pair of Gannets in the lower right-hand corner.