Flying

Introducing Sable

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

We had been flying nearly an hour when a smudge first appeared on the horizon of the ocean stretching before us. Though shrouded in fog, it was clear that we were finally nearing  our destination, the remote island that would be my home for the next 4 weeks, Sable Island.

 

Flying

First recorded by European explorers during the early 1500s, Sable Island is a large crescent-shaped sandbar situated approximately 156km from the nearest landmass (Nova Scotia, Canada). Sitting on the edge of the eastern North American continental shelf, the island was probably formed from deposits left by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age. Currently at about 49km in length, 1.25km in width and up to 30m in height above sea level, the island is experiencing decreases in size over time and shifting eastwards.

Sable Island

Map images from Google Maps

Images from Google Maps

Though fabled by many, Sable Island is known for its abundance of wildlife and colourful history. In particular, the island is famous for being the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’, with 350+ shipwrecks resting off its shores, the latest originating from 1999 (the Merrimac). Despite people living on Sable from time to time since its discovery, during the 19th century it was these shipwrecks and the establishment of lighthouses and lifesaving stations that led to the start of continuous human presence on the island. The lifesaving stations persisted till they were decommissioned in 1958, but a meteorological station was set up at the start of the 20th century that is still functioning on the island today.

Sable shipwreck map

Map from the NS Department of Education

Today Sable Island is now under the management of Parks Canada, following its designation as a National Park Reserve in 2013. This designation recognises Sable for its impressive dune system and rich biodiversity, including endemic species and the world’s largest grey seal breeding colony. Despite this and the island’s many bird, invertebrate and plant species, you will find that the island’s population of feral horses is what captures most the public’s imagination. These horses were what I first saw when the green strip of Sable flanked by sandy beaches first came fully into view from the plane and its these horses that I was here to visit.

Following my first sight of the island, we were soon bumping down on to the landing strip on the island’s sandy south beach. After months of planning and much hard work, I had finally arrived!

Sable Aviation Plane

 

For Further Reading:

  • Sable Island: Explorations in Ecology and Biodiversity – Edited by Bill Freedman

An unexpected and unusual food source

/ Laura Tuke / Leave a comment

Throughout July, we noticed an increasing number of birds spending time in the vicinity of our farm’s slurry store (large open-topped tank above the ground). Consequently I decided to investigate the reason for this.

The birds numerously seen were flocks of starlings, flocks of house sparrows and a couple of our local black-headed gulls (one in particular was seen everyday, which we named Nigel). From the outside of the slurry store, you could see the birds perching on the edge of the tank and at times flying down inside, often to not be seen for a few minutes.

To take a closer look, I climbed up the ladder on the side of the tank to get to the platform which would allow me to look down into the store.

On this platform, you could look all the way to the bottom of the tank, which during July had only a couple of feet of slurry left within it. From the platform I was able to watch the behaviour of the birds without disturbing the birds . Consequently my suspicions about what the birds were doing were soon confirmed.

All the birds spotted, were exploiting the slurry store as a location to find food, such as feeding on fly larvae hatching in the surface of the slurry. All these different bird species had different strategies to feed in this environment. House sparrows would fly down to the bottom of the tank, to pick larvae from the surface of the slurry whilst on the wing. Starlings would perch on the nuts on the inside of the tank’s walls, before flying down to pick off larvae or hunt on the surface of the slurry. Black-headed gulls would use similar tactics, but would often sit on the surface of the slurry where it was most watery and feed at their leisure.

It was very interesting to watch these birds feed, but now into August these birds have moved off to exploit other further food sources.

 

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Black-Headed Gull on edge of slurry store (Nigel)

Slurry Store
Starling on edge of slurry store
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Starlings on inside surface of slurry store