Marine Animals and Seabirds, at the Colony

Behavior you only see at a colony

A single animal on a rock tells you about anatomy. A colony tells you about behavior: how animals space themselves, how they argue, how parents and young stay together. That is the material you need for a scene with more than one animal in it.

The Fur Seals Colony pack shows this well. Its 405 photos are sorted into folders: adults, the colony beach, cubs, juveniles, a seal couple, and a sequence of 156 photos of one cub coming out of the ocean and drying in the sun. The photographer waited more than 2 hours for the cubs to accept a closer approach. The pack was shot on a Canon L-series telephoto lens at 5100 × 3450 and includes a short video clip.

Seabirds at the nest and in the air

• Gannet Bird Colony: 369 photos of a breeding colony on a steep cliff in New Zealand, where the gannets stay 9 months of the year. It includes 2 handheld videos, 2:08 and 0:59 long.
• Yellow-Eyed Penguins: an endangered penguin that nests alone rather than in large colonies. The photos and 4 video clips were taken at a wildlife reserve on the South Island, where small shelters attract penguins coming in from the ocean.
• Spotted Shags Cliff Colony: 134 photos from Oamaru, split into the cliff colony (49) and the birds themselves (85), plus 3 videos.
• Variable Oystercatcher: 198 photos of a stocky coastal bird with a long orange bill, often photographed in pairs, on the West Coast of the South Island.
• Little Black Cormorant: 138 photos from Sydney of cormorants perched, flying, swimming and drying on the ground near a lake.

Gulls, for flight and for crowds

Gulls appear in many coastal scenes, so they are worth studying closely. Seagulls has 132 photos of a small colony on a rocky beach and a flock bathing in a pool, with a video of about 1 minute, for $4.99. Seagulls masked has 78 photos already cut out as PNG files, including birds in flight from different angles and 7 large flock images. You can place them straight into a painting or composite.

Below the surface

For fish, Sardines Fish Clouds has 220 photos from the Philippines of a dense school moving as one shape, thick enough to block the sun. Koi Fish has 61 photos at 7360 × 4912 of colorful koi in a pond in Bali, useful for both fish and water surfaces. For freshwater reptiles, the Red-Eared Terrapin and Reeves Turtles pack has 77 photos, and our reptile reference page has more.

Frequently asked questions

Were these animals photographed in the wild?

Most of the colony packs show animals in their own habitat: seals on a rocky beach, gannets on a breeding cliff, shags on their nesting cliffs. The yellow-eyed penguins were photographed at a wildlife reserve. Each product page lists the location.

Which packs include video?

Fur Seals Colony, Gannet Bird Colony, Yellow-Eyed Penguins, Spotted Shags Cliff Colony and Seagulls all include short handheld video clips. Video helps you see how an animal moves between the moments a photo captures.

Is there a free pack I can try first?

Yes. Pier Bird Colony is free: 59 photos of seabirds nesting on an old abandoned pier, shot at twilight and early in the morning. More free packs are listed on our free reference photo packs page.