Gina’s Sable Island Photoblog, October 2016 – January 2017

Gina Little, who began working on Sable in 2007, had been taking photos of the island long before her first Sable Photoblog was posted on the Institute’s website. Here are some of those earlier images.

Image above: A Sable Island stallion resting in the breeze on a dune ridge in autumn.

Gina Little, who worked on Sable Island for the Meteorological Service of Canada from 2007 to 2019, had been taking photos during her walks on the island long before her first Sable Photoblog was posted on the Institute’s website in spring 2017. Here are some of those earlier images.

October 6, 2016

Weather summary for this date: no rain or fog; sunshine hours 10.2; temperature maximum 16.0°C and minimum 7.5°C; with a light breeze.

A young horse, born earlier in the summer, shedding its foal coat, face-first.

October 12, 2016

Weather summary for this date: no rain or fog; sunshine hours 9.5; temperature maximum 14.3°C and minimum 8.4°C; with light breeze.

Pebbles and a sandpiper on north beach.

October 16, 2016

Weather summary for this date: no rain or fog; sunshine hours 9.6; temperature maximum 12.8°C and minimum 4.4°C; with a peak wind of 22 knots northerly.

A swordfish bill washed up on south beach. Swordfish commonly grow to 3 m, and the bill makes up about one third of the length. Swordfish normally use the sword-shaped bill to slash and stun prey.

October 17, 2016

Weather summary for this date: 0.2 mm of rain; fog; sunshine hours 0.8; temperature maximum 15.8°C and minimum 12.1°C; with a peak wind of 22 knots southwesterly.

A herd of Surf Clams on the north beach, washed ashore with the last tide and still alive. The gulls will pry open the shells and have a feast.

October 20, 2016

Weather summary for this date: no rain or fog; sunshine hours 10.1; temperature maximum 14.4°C and minimum 9.0°C; with a peak wind of 20 knots northwesterly.

A worn and eroded fragment of finger sponge washed up on the beach.

October 24, 2016

Weather summary for this date: 1 mm of rain; no fog; sunshine hours 6.6; temperature maximum 15.3°C and minimum 10.3°C; with a peak wind of 24 westerly.

A Surf Clam on the beach, still alive and clamped shut against the wind-blown sand.

As a gust of wind, and even more blowing sand.

October 25, 2016

Weather summary for this date: trace of rain; no fog; sunshine hours 7.6; temperature maximum 12.4°C and minimum 7.2°C; with a peak wind of 26 knots westerly.

A late morning rainbow seen from the north beach.

October 29, 2016

Weather summary for this date: 38.9 mm of rain; fog; sunshine hours 0.5; temperature maximum 14.4°C and minimum 10.8°C; with a peak wind of 43 knots southeasterly.

Big surf roaring along the south side of Sable Island.

November 14, 2016

Weather summary for this date: no rain; fog; sunshine hours 5.3; temperature maximum 13.2°C and minimum 9.7°C; with a peak wind of 18 knots southerly.

A sandy frond-shaped drainage pattern on the beach.

December 4, 2016

Weather summary for this date: 1.4 mm of rain and trace of snow; fog; sunshine hours 4.7; temperature maximum 4.9°C and minimum 1.1°C; with a peak wind of 32 knots northerly.

Snow falling over an wide inland field near the middle of the island.

December 10, 2016

Weather summary for this date: light snowfall; no fog; sunshine hours 1.3; temperature maximum 0.9°C and minimum -3.6°C; with a peak wind of 30 knots northwesterly.

A horse path west of the Sable Island Station, with red rose hips on the leafless stems of wild rose. Surf along the south beach is in the distance.

December 20, 2016

Weather summary for this date: no precipitation or fog; sunshine hours 3.0; temperature maximum 2.5°C and minimum -6.6°C; with a light breeze.

Ice crystals on the surface of a freshwater pond.

A fragment of cranberry making a pattern in thin ice on shallow floodwater in a dune slack.

Nighttime frost on the glass globe of the Campbell-Stokes Sunshine Recorder at the Sable Island Station.

A recently-born Grey Seal pup. The pup’s mother is nearby…

… the pup’s mother, placing herself between the pup and an approaching Grey Seal bull.

December 29, 2016

Weather summary for this date: no precipitation or fog; sunshine hours 6.8; temperature maximum 5.3°C and minimum 0.1°C; with a peak wind of 32 knots southeasterly.

A horse’s leg bone colonized by lichens.

A horse hoof a fragment from a nearby horse skeleton, resting in a patch of crowberry.

January 7, 2017

Weather summary for this date: 2.8 mm of rain; no fog; sunshine hours 2.6; temperature maximum 3.4°C and minimum -2.2°C; with a peak wind of 45 knots easterly.

Small clumps of ice suspended on plants in Pinetree Pond West.

A female Grey Seal in the breeding colony, watching a watcher.

Gina Little’s Sable Island PhotoBlog, October 2016 – January 2017
Prepared for the Sable Island Institute

See Gina’s PhotoBlogs:
April-July, 2017
October 2017 – January 2018
April-June, 2018
October 2018 – January 2019
April-June 2019
and July 2019
And see Gina’s profile.

One Comment

Sheila Dunbar April 27, 2020

Beautiful photos need to make a book or calendar !

Reply

The Beginning of a Memorable Partnership – Bob Dykes, 2017

In 1971, Bob Dykes flew to Sable Island to meet Henry James and his research team conducting behavioural studies of the island’s Harbour Seal population. Bob worked with the crew as they collected data on seals who were crossing the wide and featureless Sandy Plain, and spent lively evenings in the Aframe (a field camp constructed by the James Gang) discussing data and theories of animal navigation.

David Millar, 1967-1969

In May 1967, David Millar, fresh out of training in Toronto and Ottawa, arrived at his first posting, Sable Island. Outside of work at the weather station, David took an interest in the island’s environment and spent a lot of time walking and exploring, and developed two hobbies which he still enjoys – bird watching and photography. During his two summers, David occasionally assisted Dalhousie University’s Ian McLaren and his students in their studies of the Ipswich Sparrow.

Full Circle

In December 1963, Gordon LeBlanc began a one-year posting on Sable Island as a meteorological technician with MSC’s aerology program. The work was largely routine, with twice-daily launches of the upper air balloon and making detailed observations and measurements around the clock. On work days, there was little time to explore the island, so on a day off, station personnel might pack a sandwich and go for a long walk, or in the spring and summer ride their dependable horses, Rawin and Trigger.

Merlin MacAulay 1955-1956

In May 1955, after completing the 16-week course at the Upper Air Training School in Toronto, and then serving a few months in Sept-Îles, Quebec, Merlin MacAulay travelled to Sable Island on the government ship Lady Laurier to work as an upper air technician for the MSC. During Merlin’s stay, Fred Davis and a National Film Board of Canada crew visited to made a short documentary about Sable Island.

Win Trips to Sable Island with Kattuk Expeditions, 2023

A Sable Island Institute fundraising raffle for seats on a helicopter day-trip to Sable Island in early October 2023.

Now, it is about so much more – Lauren Hughes, February 2023

As we walked the network of horse trails… I was captivated by beetles, spiders, and the tiny sweat bee – newly recognizing the critical role that all of these creatures play in the island’s ecosystem.