Kent Island: Bowdoin Research Center

This page is dedicated to my time spent on Kent Island photographing the wildlife, researchers, and island.
The Kent Island Research Center performs research centered around Leeches Storm Petrels, Herring Gulls, and Savannah Sparrows. This year, visiting grad students from Bucknell University are trying to answer questions regarding Storm Petrel feeding: Does parental provisioning during the rearing stage impact oxidative stress and mitochondrial function (whether frequent small meals are better than less frequent large meals), does the natural irregular feeding pattern physiologically stress the chicks, and to what degree does natural variation in damage/mitochondrial efficiency exist in the chick population. I particularly enjoyed my time shooting with this group as the chicks are quite adorably covered in fluffy feathers. Further, this group is spearheading the use of OROBOROS Instruments technology to perform mitochondrial research, something that I had experienced first hand at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia just last summer.
The Savannah Sparrow researchers are conducting a variety of work including population monitoring by continuing a data set begun in 1989. Projects also include fledgling survival success, movement patterns, and song learning. The nests/chicks are checked daily and tagged at certain stages to allow for electro-tracking. The researchers put the trackers on like little backpacks that sit right on their back to avoid flight inhibition.
Gull research also continues on the island and looks into topics like nesting area and density movement over generations. The island is home to various species including Herring Gulls, Lesser black-backed, and Greater black-backed gulls. Social dynamics among the gulls and chicks are also studied to look into group defensive strategies employed by the birds. Gull eggs and chicks blend into the beach rocks due to their speckled camouflage. After hatching, the young are reliant upon their parents for food and protection from other gulls. Gulls are quite territorial, especially during the chick season, and would attack any young that encroach upon their self-proclaimed territory. These birds receive a poor reputation from beachgoers due to their opportunistic feeding behaviors, though many sandwich thieves are laughing gulls. In actuality, these birds display just as many beautiful habits and examples of raw nature as any other species. They may lack gaudy coloring or a particularly beautiful bird song, but they are most certainly an exemplary account of evolutionary strength.
Besides the various bird projects occurring at any given moment, Kent island boasts numerous impressive landscapes, partly due to the weather. During my time, impressively dense fog swaddled the trees and reduced visibility to only a hundred or so feet. The water droplets whirled by in the air as the fog pushed through the various ecosystems throughout the island. This fog inhibited and improved my shots at any given moment as it created a profound feeling for seemingly basic subjects. Or, it would shroud the wildlife subjects, making sharp portraits a challenge. The changing weather between this fog and impressive sunshine in the afternoon made the island a wonderful place to shoot. Kent Island also neighbors Hay and Sheep islands, which one can visit at low tide. I particularly enjoyed shooting the remnant fish corral poles. Fishermen line these poles with nets to create enclosures to hold their catch, a necessity for large-scale bait fishing. The poles created looming shadows and felt like such a presence from the past of this place. I knew that I needed to capture them somehow.
My work does not often include landscape photography, and I had always wanted to experiment with or gain some familiarity with black and white. I’ve read that people can over use it to dramaticize otherwise unimpressive scenes, but I believe there’s a lot more to it. I think black and white emphasizes a presence that already exists within the shot. The first photo in the right column depicts the decrepit remains of previous structure, likely a fish pen. As a, mostly, wildlife photographer, I immediately think of the ominous grandeur of these poles and the hundreds of thousands of fish previously swimming endlessly within it. The rock weed’s deep green or bright blue sky feel distracting from this. The scene feels as though it should be bleak and dominated with various shades of black and gray. The poles continue to disintegrate like frail, aging bones in the powerful weather. I want viewers to appreciate the details aside from colors in the black and white shots, such as the dock boards’ lines leading to an imperfectly centered final post.
 
The island also hosts an artist resident every summer. This year it was Mary Hart. She spoke to the students about finding meaning in her subjects and how her process has changed throughout her career. Some students combined field research with advancement of their own visual arts skills.
I am incredibly grateful to Patty Jones, Ian Kyle, and the rest of the Kent Island crew for granting me the opportunity to document their work and the island. I was met with open arms by all, ate amazing, home-cooked meals, and caught a glimpse of a summer on Kent Island; something that I had wanted to do during my time at Bowdoin but never did.