Juanita Browne: Visit a seabird colony — they're wildlife wonders

Gannets are perfectly designed for diving, they torpedo into the water from 30 metres or more above the surface and hit the water at 100kmph

The gannet’s body is specially adapted for diving. Air sacs under the skin of the head and chest protect it like bubble-wrap as it hits the surface of the water at 100kmph. Gannets hunt fish by diving into the sea from a height and pursuing their prey underwater. For this picture, the camera was in an underwater housing lowered into the water as the birds were feeding

In July, our offshore islands and sea cliffs are teeming with life as gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and gulls raise their young. Visiting a seabird colony, such as Sceilig Bheag, in mid-summer is one of the most amazing wildlife experiences you could have.

In Australia, you ‘have to’ visit Uluru; in the United States, the Grand Canyon; in Canada the Niagara Falls. In Ireland, I believe the Skelligs, off the Kerry coast, is our very own Uluru — a natural phenomenon so breath-taking, it just has to be on your bucket list.