Christina

It’s been a beautiful week in Blanc-Sablon – gorgeous and sunny mostly, with one very snowy day. At one point there was so much wind and snow I could hardly see the trees outside the house, and then a moment later when I looked out the back door the sky was brilliant blue. To the west I could see the setting sun and blue skies mixed in with some pink-tinted clouds and to the east I could see the nearly black cloud that had passed over us, contrasted with the white, snowy hills. It was breathtaking.

In March, Trish and I will be heading up the coast to Red Bay, Labrador, to give a presentation to hunters about the merits of steel shot. Lead shot has been banned in Canada for waterfowl hunting as a result of concerns about lead poisoning in waterfowl and humans, and the detrimental effects that lead can have on an ecosystem in general. Many hunters still prefer lead shot to steel shot. I think it’s going to be a good presentation, but a hard sell – although I have found information about steel shot stating that it performs the same way lead shot does in many ways, I have also discovered through my research that there is a significant amount of hunter bias against steel shot.

In Labrador we will also be providing locals with the materials required for the construction of wooden eider duck nesting boxes - part of my job this week was to determine exactly how much wood will be needed. Eider ducks nest on the ground, and generally remain on their nests but if disturbed, for example, by humans or by boat traffic, they will leave the nest, leaving the eggs unprotected and providing a quick and easy meal for gulls. Our goal with the nesting boxes is to provide a safe environment where the eider ducks can nest and the eggs will be protected from hungry gulls – the box entrance will be large enough to let the eider duck in, but too small for a gull.

Apart from these projects, I have been putting together a plan for eider duck education activities in the Basque Memorial School in Red Bay, Labrador. The school has very few students – 23 in total for kindergarten to grade 12 - so the activities will have to be tailored to multiple age groups. I have been reading through the curriculum requirements for each grade to ensure that the activities will fit with the desired learning outcomes.

It’s been another good week.