Northern Gannets are monogamous seabirds and they mate for life. At the breeding colony on Bird Rock at Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve the cliffs are filled with nesting pairs of these large, white birds. One of the most charming things to witness is the affectionate display of a mated pair when they greet each other after one has been away fishing or gathering nesting material. Every time one returns to the nesting site, the pair intertwine their necks, touch their beaks against each other, and press their bodies together on the cliffside.