Animal Life - Atlantic Puffin Cam

 

Seal Island, off the coast of Maine, is a Puffin breeding ground.  Here we can see them in their burrows with their chicks, although they might be out exploring.

These young seabirds will be fledging in the next week or so, but for now they'll be honing their foraging skills and flight abilities.

The Atlantic Puffin is the smallest of the four species and can be identified by the blue in its beak.  They belong to the Alcidae (Auk) family of seabirds.  60% of pairs breed in Iceland.

The chicks are the puff that have given these birds their name.

They typically only lay one egg per year, and their beaks only become so colorful for the mating season.  Once a pair lands, they may engage in "billing," a kind of beaky kissing that lets everyone know they're together.  Once the burrows are made, one will stand guard.  Others passing by will walk rapidly with head lowered to indicate they're not trying to start any trouble.  Puffins do get protective of their area, and the island can get pretty crowded.

Puffins can dive for up to a minute but typically stay down for 20-30 seconds.  They can hold about 10 fish in their beak, but one was recorded carrying 62!  Chicks will be fed several times a day.

Here's a hangout on the Boulder Berm.

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