15th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Birds Overhead

Bass Rock is an imposing rocky island rising over 100m sheer from the Firth of Forth. It is estimated to host about 150,000 Northern Gannets nesting in close proximity to the cliffs, of which several thousand are in the air at any one time, circling in the same direction to avoid a collision.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2016
Date Uploaded: 11.2017
Photo Location: Bass Rock, Scotland, United Kingdom
Camera: NIKON D810
Copyright: © John Birch