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Project Puffin is an effort initiated by Dr. Stephen W. Kress of the
Project Puffin Web page
Project Puffin Visitor Center
Hog Island Audubon Camp
Project Puffin is an effort initiated by Dr. Stephen W. Kress of the National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...
to learn how to restore puffins
Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...
to historic nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...
. It was started in 1973 when puffins were nesting in only two locations in Maine — Matinicus Rock and Machias Seal Island
Machias Seal Island is an island in disputed water between the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy, about southeast from Cutler, Maine, and southwest of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick. Sovereignty of the island is disputed by the United State ...
. The project began with an attempt to restore puffins to Eastern Egg Rock Island
Eastern Egg Rock Island is an island in the Town of St. George in Knox County in the U.S. state of Maine. It is owned by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW), and it is located off the southern Atlantic Coast of the sta ...
in Muscongus Bay
Muscongus Bay is a bay on the coast of Maine, United States, between Penobscot Bay and John's Bay. Muscongus was the name of an Abenaki village meaning "fishing place" or "many r largerock ledges." John Smith recorded the river in 1616 as Nusco ...
, about away from Pemaquid Point
The Pemaquid Point Light is a historic U.S. lighthouse located in Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine, at the tip of the Pemaquid Neck.
History
The lighthouse was commissioned in 1827 by President John Quincy Adams and built that year. Because of poo ...
. The restoration efforts are based on the fact that young puffins usually return to breed on the same island where they hatched.
Young puffins from Great Island
Great Island () is an island in Cork Harbour, at the mouth of the River Lee and close to the city of Cork, Ireland. The largest town on the island is Cobh (called Queenstown from 1849 to 1922). The island's economic and social history has histo ...
were transplanted to Eastern Egg Rock when they were about 10–14 days old. The young puffins were then nested in artificial sod burrow
An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...
s for about one month. Audubon biologists placed handfuls of vitamin-fortified fish in their burrows each day. As the young puffins reached fledging age, they received identification tags so they could be recognized in the future. After spending their first 2–3 years at sea, it was hoped they would return to establish a new colony at Eastern Egg Rock rather than Great Island.
Between 1973 and 1986, 954 young puffins were transplanted from Great Island to Eastern Egg Rock and 914 of these successfully fledged. Transplanted puffins began returning to Eastern Egg Rock in June 1977. To lure them ashore and encourage the birds to explore their home, wooden puffin decoys were positioned atop large boulders. The number of young puffins has gradually increased. In 1981, four pairs nested beneath boulders at the edge of the island and the colony had increased to 37 pairs in 2001. The total population reached 188 pairs in 2019.
Project Puffin Visitor Center
In 2006 the National Audubon Society opened the Project Puffin Visitor Center inRockland, Maine
Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 6,936. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination. It is a departure point for the Maine State ...
. The Center features a live video display of puffins and other seabirds from Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge
Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge is a island off the coast of Maine, United States near Matinicus Island that is part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge. During any given summer season, over 100 species of birds are observe ...
. Exhibits also include natural history displays, the seabird conservation work done by the Audubon Society and its partners, and a film about Project Puffin. There is also an art gallery and a gift shop.
References
External links
Project Puffin Web page
Project Puffin Visitor Center
Hog Island Audubon Camp