Wings Over the North

Year Published: 1930s

Creator: Alfred M. Bailey

Description: This short nature film "Wings Over the North" by Alfred M. Bailey showcases the immense seabird colonies of Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, featuring Atlantic puffins, rare European cormorants, Atlantic murres, razorbills, and northern gannets. Much of the footage focuses on nesting, feeding, courtship, and defensive behavior, including dramatic views of thousands of gannets occupying cliffs hundreds of feet above the sea. The closing emphasis on laws prohibiting the shooting of birds reflects the growing conservation movement of the period and presents these remote islands as protected refuges for North Atlantic wildlife. Alfred Marshall Bailey was an American ornithologist who was associated with the Denver Museum of Natural History (now the Denver Museum of Nature and Science) in Colorado for most of his working life. 0:00- Main titles. The bird sanctuaries of Labrador and the North Atlantic. 0:26 - Near Belle Isle, one of Labrador's best-known bird sanctuaries, a colony of Atlantic puffins is shown nesting along the rocky coast. The birds are remarkably unafraid of the camera, while the narrator points out the distinctive, brightly shaped breeding bill that is shed later in the season.Belle Isle is located off the coast of Labrador and northeast of Newfoundland. It sits at the Atlantic entrance to the Strait of Belle Isle, which separates Labrador from Newfoundland, and names the vital maritime passage 0:49 - A rare European cormorant is introduced, with the narrator noting that only a few colonies of this species had been found in North America. A protective mother reacts aggressively to the cameraman while her rapidly growing chick develops its thick black down. 1:22 - Atlantic murres are shown tending their eggs. The narrator marvels at how each mother is able to identify and return to her own egg among the crowded nesting colony. 1:41 - A razorbill is shown diving into the water in pursuit of fish, demonstrating the remarkable underwater fishing abilities of these seabirds. 1:52 - The film moves south to Bonaventure Island near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, home to one of the best-known seabird colonies in the North. Thousands of northern gannets occupy the island's towering ocean cliffs. 2:15 - The gannets are portrayed as anything but timid, aggressively defending their nesting territory from intruders. Their spectacular formations in flight are compared to fleets of airplanes passing over the camera. 2:33 - The gannets nest on ledges hundreds of feet above the sea. Their crowded cliffside colonies provide a dramatic setting for courtship behavior, with the narrator humorously comparing one bird's facial markings to carefully applied makeup. 2:52 - Young gannets spend much of their time resting and sleeping on the narrow cliff ledges. 3:04 - An adult returns from a fishing trip and is immediately surrounded by hungry chicks. The narrator humorously describes the apparently violent feeding behavior as the young birds reach into the mother's throat for the fish she has brought back. 3:26 -Reflecting on how the rocky islands of the North have protected seabirds for centuries. New wildlife protections prohibiting shooting except with cameras are presented as a hopeful guarantee that these colonies will remain sanctuaries for generations.

Online Copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o07u4KidDRA

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