Sept-Îles: gannets on Rouzic, puffins and auks

Q: Sept-Îles: gannets on Rouzic, puffins and auks: when is the best time to go?

1 May to 15 Jul: May to mid July. Boats circle Rouzic by day (check sailing times from Perros-Guirec); Cap Fréhel's cliffs are loudest from first light to about 09:00 and in the 2 h before sunset when birds return.

Q: Sept-Îles: gannets on Rouzic, puffins and auks: where should I go?

Île Rouzic (from the boat, no landing); Station LPO, Île-Grande (Pleumeur-Bodou); Cap Fréhel (France).

Northern gannet colony on Rouzic island — Northern gannet. Photo: JackyM59, CC BY 4.0

Northern gannet (Morus bassanus), Atlantic puffin, guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake, Manx shearwater. Côte de Granit Rose, Côtes-d'Armor, France.

Best time: 1 May – 15 Jul (May to July). Where: Île Rouzic (from the boat, no landing), Station LPO, Île-Grande (Pleumeur-Bodou), Cap Fréhel (France). Time of day: Boats circle Rouzic by day (check sailing times from Perros-Guirec).

Partly on your own
Paid trip only
Binoculars helpful
Sound 5/5

Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.

When is the best time?

Peak: 1 May – 15 Jul. May to mid July

Active from 1 Mar to 15 Sep (March to September) in a typical year.

Time of day

Boats circle Rouzic by day (check sailing times from Perros-Guirec); Cap Fréhel's cliffs are loudest from first light to about 09:00 and in the 2 h before sunset when birds return.

Cliff colony morning: sunrise → 09:00
Evening return: 2 h before sunset → sunset

What will you hear?

France's only gannet colony (about 14,000 pairs on Rouzic) as a wall of grating calls from the boat, puffins and kittiwakes on the sea, and the Atlantic swell against the granite.

Binoculars?

Binoculars helpful. The boat idles close under Rouzic; binoculars for auks on the Cap Fréhel ledges 50–100 m below.

Where to go

Île Rouzic (from the boat, no landing) — Boats from Perros-Guirec / Ploumanac'h circle the gannet cliffs; landing is prohibited on Rouzic. Map
Station LPO, Île-Grande (Pleumeur-Bodou) — Reserve house with live camera on the colony and information. Map
Cap Fréhel — Mainland cliff colony of guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes; free access to the cliff path. Map

How to go on your own, and what it costs

Rouzic is boat-only (no landing): boat cruises from Perros-Guirec/Trestraou run 1h45–2h30 past the gannet cliffs, some with a stop on Île aux Moines. Cap Fréhel: free cliff path from the lighthouse car park (paid in season), mainland colony of auks and kittiwakes, open at all hours. Île-Grande LPO station: live colony camera.

Cost: Boat cruises from Perros-Guirec (check current prices); Cap Fréhel free, car park charge in season.

Free or no-guide alternative: Cap Fréhel is the free, land-based version: guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes on the mainland cliffs from the coast path at dawn — no gannets, but the same wall of sound.

Field-recording notes

From the boat, engine and passenger noise limit you to the moments the skipper idles by the cliffs — ask for a longer stop. A hydrophone over the side picks up diving gannets. Cap Fréhel gives a static land rig, but the wind is constant and the lighthouse car park busy. Avian flu hit Rouzic hard in 2022; numbers are recovering.

Sources

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More: all spectacles in France · puffins · guillemots · gannets · seabird colonies · France in May · France in June · France in July