An acoustic collaboration with Parks Canada documenting protected island ecosystems
In 2020, I was granted a rare opportunity by Parks Canada to conduct field recordings across several islands within the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, including the iconic Île aux Perroquets and Quarry Island. These are fragile, protected environments that very few individuals have the privilege to visit, let alone document sonically. With only a single day to capture the essence of this vast territory, the conditions were fortunately in my favor. As a contribution to the park’s mission, I produced a series of educational soundscapes that are now utilized by Parks Canada’s interpretive staff to connect the public with the invisible rhythms of the archipelago.
Despite the tight time constraints, I dedicated myself to an intensive study of the avian life on Île aux Perroquets. This Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is renowned for its colony of Atlantic Puffins, often called “sea parrots”, which nest here between April and September. The island’s acoustic profile is a dense, wild texture of calls from Razorbills, Black Guillemots, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common Eiders, Common Ravens, and various gull species. Click here to listen to the island chorus.
Further offshore, the sonic landscape expanded to include the voices of the sea. Vast colonies of Grey, Harbor, and Harp seals completed this wild tableau. Their haunting vocalizations, echoing across the water, added an unforgettable marine dimension to the experience, grounding the project in the raw, untamed spirit of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Click here to listen.