Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Puffins Fill up Nesting Islands This Year Despite Challenges
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
August 5, 2019

Share

PORTLAND, Maine — One of the most beloved birds in Maine is having one of its most productive seasons for mating pairs in years on remote islands off the state’s coast.
Atlantic puffins, with their colorful beaks and waddling walks, are one of New England’s best recognized seabirds. Maine is the only state in the U.S. where the birds breed, and they do so on hard-to-reach places like Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge in the Gulf of Maine, a body of water that touches New England and Canada.
The birds are well on their way to setting a record for the number of breeding pairs, said National Audubon Society scientist Stephen Kress, who has studied the birds for years. Kress said nearly 750 pairs nested on Seal Island and Eastern Egg Rock in 2018, and this year’s number will likely be higher.
The birds are thriving due to multiple factors, including an abundance of the type of fish they’re best suited to eat, such as young haddock and hake and herring. In some previous years, the birds have suffered because those fish were less available, replaced by fish that are more difficult for them to digest. The appearance of the more ideal fish could have to do with the Gulf of Maine running somewhat cool recently.

Atlantic Puffins Listed as Vulnerable

A lot of puffins also laid eggs slightly early this year, which suggests the parents are in good condition, Kress said. He cautioned that the birds’ breeding success has fluctuated in the past, so this year’s good news might not be evidence of a long-term trend.

“This is a good year. But I think the message really is this — in recent years, especially since the big heat wave of ’12 and ’13, we’ve seen a pattern of good year alternating with not so good year.” — National Audubon Society scientist Stephen Kress
“This is a good year. But I think the message really is this — in recent years, especially since the big heat wave of ’12 and ’13, we’ve seen a pattern of good year alternating with not so good year,” Kress said. “We’re very much in a system of a roller coaster as far as the puffins go.”
Atlantic puffins are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and they number about 1,300 pairs in Maine. The birds live on both sides of the northern Atlantic Ocean, and face threats such as warming ocean temperatures, fluctuations in food availability and predators.
The largest puffin colony in the Gulf of Maine is on Machias Seal Island, a disputed island on the U.S.-Canada water border that is home to 5,000 to 6,000 pairs. Those birds are also having a successful year, said Heather Major, associate professor in the biological sciences department at the University of New Brunswick in Canada.

Fishermen Sue to Overturn Creation of Monument

The birds can suffer when waters warm and squid and butterfish, which aren’t good puffin food, dominate local waters, Major said. But the Gulf of Maine is a little cooler than last year, and good prey has been abundant, she said. The island is around its long-term average of 56% of eggs producing a successful chick, Major said.
“There were lots of puffins around this year,” she said. “This year it seems more stable.”
The puffins of Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge are the subject of a popular “puffin cam” hosted by Explore.org, said Keenan Yakola, Seal Island supervisor for Audubon, who helps maintain the camera.
Environmental groups have made the case recently that Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which former President Barack Obama designated in 2016, is important to the survival of the puffins. Fishermen have sued to overturn the creation of the monument, which they believe creates an unfair hardship in the form of fishing restrictions.
But Audubon and other environmental groups have said the monument, which creates a protected area off New England, provides birds with a reliable food source.
“Having that area that they are known to use in a protected condition is certainly a plus for the puffins,” said Peter Shelley, senior counsel with Conservation Law Foundation.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

DON'T MISS

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

DON'T MISS

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

DON'T MISS

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

DON'T MISS

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

DON'T MISS

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Luigi Mangione Due in Court for Arraignment as Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty

UP NEXT

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

UP NEXT

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

Yelich’s 5th Career Slam and Bauers’ 2-Run Homer Power the Brewers to Win Over the Giants

UP NEXT

Happ Hits Game-Ending Single in the 10th as the Cubs Rally Past Dodgers

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

1 hour ago

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

1 hour ago

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

1 hour ago

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

2 hours ago

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

3 hours ago

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

3 hours ago

Luigi Mangione Due in Court for Arraignment as Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty

3 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Snubbed in NFL Draft’s Round 1 but Leads List of Top Available Players for Day 2

3 hours ago

Chargers Choose North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton in Effort to Boost Offense

3 hours ago

49ers Draft Georgia Edge Rusher Mykel Williams With the No. 11 Pick in the NFL Draft

3 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

A Fresno man has been arrested in connection with a decades-old cold case after DNA technology linked him to the 2004 murder and sexual assa...

46 minutes ago

Robert Castillo (left), 61, of Fresno, has been arrested in the 2004 murder and sexual assault of Barbara Lee after DNA evidence linked him to the cold case and two additional rape investigations. (Fresno County SO)
46 minutes ago

Fresno Man Arrested in 2004 Cold Case Rape and Murder

Willie Ray Butler is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for April 25, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
55 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Willie Ray Butler

56 minutes ago

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

A CHP K-9 unit discovered 13 pounds of cocaine worth over $600,000 hidden in a vehicle's exhaust tunnel during a traffic stop on I-5 in Fresno County on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (CHP)
1 hour ago

Fresno County Traffic Stop Leads to $600K Cocaine Bust

1 hour ago

Fresno Ranks Fourth in US for an Affordable Night Out

The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Picture taken May 12, 2021. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)
1 hour ago

New US SEC Chair Says Crypto Sector Deserves Clear Regulations

Hannah Dugan speaks as she was seeking election to Milwaukee County Circuit Court during a forum at the Milwaukee Bar Association in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., March 15, 2016. Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images via (REUTERS/File Photo)
2 hours ago

US Officials Arrest Milwaukee Judge for Obstructing Immigration Operation

A Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptor is seen during the third annual "Made in America Product Showcase" on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 15, 2019. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
3 hours ago

Exclusive: US Congress Republicans Seek $27 Billion for Golden Dome in Trump Tax Bill

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend