Greetings Outside World!
As the summer is starting to wind down, everyone’s projects are reaching their apex and last minute adventures are being had at a rapid rate. At this point, if you blink, you’ll miss something! This part of the summer is also the perfect opportunity to reflect on what has happened so far, what is currently happening, and all the last minute things I must do before I leave the island on the 27th.
I’m always amazed at the hidden gems of knowledge I am presented with every single day. On Kent Island, it’s not only the people that have taught me life lessons, it’s every part of the place: the birds, the weather, the water, the way of life, and the island itself. I thought that for my guest blog I would pass on some of these tokens of wisdom that have been truly inspirational to me this summer. Spoiler alert: some are goofy and others are kind of common knowledge.
The first lesson came on the first full day on Kent Island. Colin and I were walking down to our study site with our advisor Bob who, out of nowhere, announced: “Treat any place you’re in as the only place you would ever want to be. That way you can fully soak in the moment. Also do this with food. Bad food will taste so much better.” It’s such a simple concept, yet so easy to forget when it’s been raining five days straight, your clothing smells like something rotten, and a bird shits on you. However, there is no other place I would rather be then on this tiny island in the Bay of Fundy.
The thing that has taught me the most is Oceanodroma leucorhoa, the small, pelagic birds I have devoted my summer to studying. In particular, these birds have taught me about love, loyalty, equality, and selflessness. Leach’s storm petrels can have the same mate for their protracted lives. They will spend their entire winter apart from each other, flying as far as South Africa completely by themselves. When late spring rolls around, the storm petrels head back to the same burrows they shared with their mates the summer before. In these burrows they wait for their mates to show up. Doesn’t this sound like every hopeless-romantic’s dream?
Sometime mates won’t make it through the winter. Other times mates will divorce. However, these divorces generally only happen between young couples that fail to have a successful breeding season the previous summer. About one fourth of all petrel pairs will fail to successfully raise their solitary egg each summer. For petrels, selfishness kills. Males and females are equally responsible for incubating and caring for the helpless egg. The parents will stay in the burrow for up to seven days or until they can last no longer. With older couples, it’s like clockwork . When one parent leaves to find food the other parent returns that very night. However, if one parent does not replace the other, the egg will lay cold and benumbed. If the egg does not receive the warmth that is essential for life in seven days, there is no hope. No amount of warmth will bring the prospective chick back. There is no such thing as being a single parent in the petrel world.
Can you imagine if people acted more like Leach’s storm petrels?
The most beautiful part of Kent Island is not the beaches, the fields, or the breathtaking sunsets. Other people’s passion for their projects or work is in fact the most enchanting part of Kent Island. This applies to every single person that has been on the island since I’ve been here. Even if they were here for a day or several months, their love and determination to accomplish whatever they are aiming for has left me speechless and heartened. I hope to find this fervor in every aspect of my life when I leave Kent Island.
Lastly, I have learned that 12-year-old boots WILL NOT survive two months on Kent Island (Ya, Mum. Not our best idea ever). However, that means that one can always live up to the Grand Manan expression of “Fill Ya’ Boots.”
There are so many other lessons I have learned this summer. However, that would take forever and I have to go grubbing for petrels soon. I am so lucky to have had this experience. The people and the memories will forever have a very fond place in my heart. I can’t wait for all the adventure and lessons that the next two weeks have in store for us.
Seek the Joy of Being Alive,
Hale
As the summer is starting to wind down, everyone’s projects are reaching their apex and last minute adventures are being had at a rapid rate. At this point, if you blink, you’ll miss something! This part of the summer is also the perfect opportunity to reflect on what has happened so far, what is currently happening, and all the last minute things I must do before I leave the island on the 27th.
I’m always amazed at the hidden gems of knowledge I am presented with every single day. On Kent Island, it’s not only the people that have taught me life lessons, it’s every part of the place: the birds, the weather, the water, the way of life, and the island itself. I thought that for my guest blog I would pass on some of these tokens of wisdom that have been truly inspirational to me this summer. Spoiler alert: some are goofy and others are kind of common knowledge.
The first lesson came on the first full day on Kent Island. Colin and I were walking down to our study site with our advisor Bob who, out of nowhere, announced: “Treat any place you’re in as the only place you would ever want to be. That way you can fully soak in the moment. Also do this with food. Bad food will taste so much better.” It’s such a simple concept, yet so easy to forget when it’s been raining five days straight, your clothing smells like something rotten, and a bird shits on you. However, there is no other place I would rather be then on this tiny island in the Bay of Fundy.
The thing that has taught me the most is Oceanodroma leucorhoa, the small, pelagic birds I have devoted my summer to studying. In particular, these birds have taught me about love, loyalty, equality, and selflessness. Leach’s storm petrels can have the same mate for their protracted lives. They will spend their entire winter apart from each other, flying as far as South Africa completely by themselves. When late spring rolls around, the storm petrels head back to the same burrows they shared with their mates the summer before. In these burrows they wait for their mates to show up. Doesn’t this sound like every hopeless-romantic’s dream?
Sometime mates won’t make it through the winter. Other times mates will divorce. However, these divorces generally only happen between young couples that fail to have a successful breeding season the previous summer. About one fourth of all petrel pairs will fail to successfully raise their solitary egg each summer. For petrels, selfishness kills. Males and females are equally responsible for incubating and caring for the helpless egg. The parents will stay in the burrow for up to seven days or until they can last no longer. With older couples, it’s like clockwork . When one parent leaves to find food the other parent returns that very night. However, if one parent does not replace the other, the egg will lay cold and benumbed. If the egg does not receive the warmth that is essential for life in seven days, there is no hope. No amount of warmth will bring the prospective chick back. There is no such thing as being a single parent in the petrel world.
Can you imagine if people acted more like Leach’s storm petrels?
The most beautiful part of Kent Island is not the beaches, the fields, or the breathtaking sunsets. Other people’s passion for their projects or work is in fact the most enchanting part of Kent Island. This applies to every single person that has been on the island since I’ve been here. Even if they were here for a day or several months, their love and determination to accomplish whatever they are aiming for has left me speechless and heartened. I hope to find this fervor in every aspect of my life when I leave Kent Island.
Lastly, I have learned that 12-year-old boots WILL NOT survive two months on Kent Island (Ya, Mum. Not our best idea ever). However, that means that one can always live up to the Grand Manan expression of “Fill Ya’ Boots.”
There are so many other lessons I have learned this summer. However, that would take forever and I have to go grubbing for petrels soon. I am so lucky to have had this experience. The people and the memories will forever have a very fond place in my heart. I can’t wait for all the adventure and lessons that the next two weeks have in store for us.
Seek the Joy of Being Alive,
Hale
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