The students took their midterm exam this morning, after a phenomenal brunch and sleep-in. After the test, we piled into zodiacs and headed to Smuttynose Island for the afternoon. Some went swimming, some went on a hike – which unfortunately led right through a gull nesting colony. We made it through the swooping and angry gulls, and got to see some of the old homes, foundations, and gravesides on the island. After another beautiful sunset, we watched a documentary about whale communication.
This morning at brunch, I found myself sitting directly under the minke whale skeleton mounted on the ceiling in the dining hall. I couldn’t resist capturing the interesting view.
Hurricane Arthur brought rain in the night, and a lot of wind and choppy seas today. The students spent most of the day in lecture, and we were interrupted by these two great black-backed gulls, who were pecking at the classroom window. They hang out on the roof almost every day, but today they seemed very eager to learn about whale and seal bioacoustics. The students spend most of the evening studying for their first exam, while i wrote their first exam! Another beautiful sunset and some more fireworks displays up and down the coast rounded out a busy day.
Independence Day arrived along with a prequel to Hurricane Arthur. The storm is forecast to deflect far to the east, and so far we have only seen rainstorms out on the island. Today the students helped hand shuck 80 ears of corn for the 4th of July BBQ – some shucking corn for the first time. We completed a Skulls and Skeletons lab, where students sketched seal, otter, manatee, walrus, and dolphin skulls, noting the differences between groups. We also organized a dolphin skeleton, previously contained jumbled in a box. This task was completed very quickly and with much enthusiasm. After the BBQ, we played a trivia game, where the prize was an additional shower (we’re restricted to 1 per week due to water shortages). In a heartbreaking lightning round tie breaker, our team came in second place.
We took a trip to [foggy] Duck Island for a gray seal monitoring survey, and then Mary showed students how to complete abundance estimates and photo ID from photos of haul out sites. Everyone seemed to enjoy the photo ID process, especially choosing names for seals based on distinguishing marks (photos above). A large thunderstorm, with lots of lightning, in the afternoon gave way to a double rainbow during dinner. Around 9:00, the skies lit up with heat lightning as well as fireworks from many towns on the New Hampshire and Maine coasts.
Seal photo by Alexa Hilmer
Our whale watch was cancelled due to rough seas, so we watched some movies, took a hike to the tide pools and went swimming in the afternoon. Another beautiful sunset capped off the day.
Mary (who helping me as a stellar TA) took me on a hike around the island, and the [14] students arrived at 2:00. After the usual introductions and walking tour, we took them on an Isles cruise with historical commentary by Dr. Jim Coyle. A beautiful sunset was beginning when we arrived back at Appledore.
I traveled from Boston to Portsmouth today, and then took the 4:00 boat to Shoals. 2 [dead, frozen] seals rode with us, and one will be dissected in my class. We had a faculty meeting and a course meeting, and then a lovely sunset. Getting ready for students to arrive tomorrow afternoon!
So many books, so little time…
Nadine Stewart J Lysiak 