Posted Thursday, August 31, 2006

Where are those cormorants going and other pressing island questions?
On the last day of our first month... exploring the mysteries of island life.

We sit on the deck at the end of the day and watch the water go by scanning the ‘river’ for the life of the sea. We are rarely disappointed. Lots of whales this season, harbor porpoise, fur seals… But when the mammals of the sea are taking a break from our island stage, we can always rely on the sea birds for entertainment.

We’ve decided one would have to have a rather abrasive personality to be a gull. They continually bicker over small bumps on the rock or even their preferred spot to bob on the endless water. They stretch their necks and squawk their protests eventually flying away in disgust, their eerie cries echoing back to us as they disappear. With great bravado they chase the mighty eagles as they fly from shore to shore, forgetting that from the evidence Ralph finds along the trail, freshly plucked gull is a coveted eagle delicacy.

The eagles are certainly nothing like the silent symbols you see on patriotic symbols. They too have a lot to say to one another… greeting each other upon arrival, crying across the tree tops in their very distinctive shrill voices voices. Watching them soar and play on the currents is a favorite activity on windy afternoons and it’s always a treat to find them perched close by on the tops of the trees scanning the water for fish.

The other evening the cormorants treated us to an unusual parade of sorts.. it started with just a few of these dark sleek, diving birds, flying low over the water and down the river toward the lighthouse. But soon it was apparent that this was a migration of major proportions as hundreds of birds flew by… minute after minute… bird after bird… just inches off the water. Where are they going? We demand an answer! We’ve never before seen such a sight from our box seats on the deck.

Today is the last day of our first month on the island this season. For me there are no middle ground emotions about island living. I am at peace or tormented. The island is either magical and captivating or it is a prison and I am in captivity. I cannot imagine leaving or I cannot imagine one more moment here.

I don’t know where the cormorants were going, I don’t know why there are so many mosquitoes on and island where we are the only mammals, and I cannot for the life of me understand my island emotions. I’m not expecting answers.

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