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Dear Audubon Member,

Photoby Danuta Otfinowski

As the world's population soars past 6 billion people, few ecosystems on our planet remain natural. Most need to be restored and actively managed for the birds and wildlife—and people—that live there. The Maine coast is one of those places. Atlantic puffins, a colorful and charismatic seabird about 10 inches tall, once nested in abundance on these rocky islands. Unfortunately, these birds were also attractive to hunters, and by 1902, with the exception of a single pair on Matinicus Rock, puffins had disappeared from Maine.

Atlantic puffins spend their entire lives at sea except for a few months when they come ashore to nest. Usually, they will return to nest only on the island where they were hatched. That means that once all puffins from a particular island are gone, no others will return to colonize it.

In 1973 Audubon scientist Steve Kress launched a program to restore Atlantic puffins in Maine, an effort unlike anything ever attempted before. With the cooperation of U.S. and Canadian wildlife agencies, Kress transported puffin chicks from Canada and raised them in sod burrows he built on a remote island. The chicks successfully fledged and went to sea, and for three years Kress waited. Eventually the first pair returned—with the help of decoys, mirrors, and Audubon scientists who camped on the island during the nesting season to monitor progress and guard against predators and trespassers.

Every year since, more young puffins fledge and return to nest. In all, three islands have now been colonized, with more than 200 puffin pairs, and every year the number grows. Audubon operates research stations on each island during nesting season. Puffin watching is now a popular attraction in Maine, and tour boats depart for the islands regularly from Rockland and Bar Harbor.

The scientific techniques used to reintroduce puffins are now being used successfully by Audubon and others to restore colonies of other seabirds—Arctic terns, common terns, common murres—in Maine and in other parts of the country. For example, when an oil spill wiped out the entire nesting colony of common murres on Devil's Slide Rock in California, Kress and his team assisted the scientists who reestablished the murres after the spill was cleaned up.

We no longer live in a pristine world. The careless hand of people has inflicted wounds almost everywhere. Restoring puffins to Maine is a sign of hope.

To learn more about Audubon's seabird restoration efforts or the Adopt-a-Puffin program, check out our web site at www.projectpuffin.org.

© 2002  NASI

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