Crescent School - Day 3

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with the students that are on campus from Crescent School in Toronto.  We started the morning in the lab studying the animals that were collected while the group was out on the boat Monday. Then as the rain was dissipating we headed to explore a rocky intertidal zone at Indian Point.  While looking under the rocks students found a number of animals including nudibranchs, sea urchins, dogwinkle eggs, sea stars, green crabs, a pink synapta, and hermit crabs.

After lunch we headed out in the fog to go on a wildlife tour with Quoddy Link Marine.  We had a great trip and spotted harbour porpoises, kittiwakes, bald eagles, harbour seals, and a minke whale named Slice.  Slice is one of the first minke whales to visit the area every year and is so names because his dorsal fin is cut off.  It was really great to be able to spend time with this special whale!

Drawing a brittle star in the lab.

A skeleton shrimp on the arm of a blood star 

(as seen using the microscope).

Observing a sea cucumber.

Terebellid worm under the microscope.

A sea star eating a periwinkle.

Exploring the intertidal zone in the fog.

Nudibranchs with eggs under a rock.

Pink synapta

Dogwinkle and its eggs.

Checking out the nesting kittiwakes on White Horse Island.

Head Harbour Light

  

Slice, the minke whale!

The boys from Crescent waiting for the Slice to come up again.

The teachers enjoying hot chocolate on the trip back to town.