![]() ![]() This changing menu is important because puffin chicks are very particular about their meals. On the other hand, the proportion of butterfish, haddock, and redfish increased in the birds’ diets-none of these species were present during the earlier years of the study. ![]() ![]() The most frequent catch recorded between 20 was white hake, followed by Atlantic herring, but fewer of these fish were seen over time. to see what they can catch, and then they come back with the catch of the day,” Kress says. “I think of them as little fishing fleets going out every day. Little is known about what the adults eat, since they feed at sea, so the young provide a window into the relationship between fish and puffins. Parents generally gather fish and crustaceans for their pufflings within a 12-mile radius of the nest. Puffins are particularly sensitive to changes in local fish populations because they return to the same island burrows year after year most end up raising their own chicks at the same sites where they hatched. The reason, Kress says, is a less-than-ideal menu, caused by climate change and pressures from fisheries. Using data that dates back to 1993, the experts calculated that post-fledging survival rates have declined by an average of 2.5 percent per year, and that the chicks' body condition has declined as well. Now, a new study by Kress and coauthors, published last week in FACETS, forges that link by showing that pufflings' diets are changing fast. They also weigh and measure the fuzzy nestlings and track their hatching, fledging, and survival rates. This type of long-term data is scarce for this species, says Steve Kress, director of Project Puffin-yet it’s integral for connecting puffin survival rates to the effects of climate change and commercial fisheries. A chick can eat more than 2,000 fish before leaving the nest, and they all need to have the perfect size, shape, and fat content.Įach summer off the coast of Maine, scientists with Audubon’s Project Puffin document the finicky diets of pufflings, tracking the species, quantity, and size of the fish that the parents deliver to their young. The Associated Press contributed to this report.It takes a special kind of fish diet to feed a growing Atlantic Puffin. Puffin web cams: Puffin Loafing Ledge - Live cam The project is funded by, a philanthropic organization in Santa Monica, Calif., and a division of the Annenberg Foundation. The Atlantic puffin is sometimes called the "clown of the sea" with its colorful striped beak, its diminutive stature and the comical way it waddles. And the puffin is the bird among seabirds that people can relate to." "It's the most troubled group of birds in the world. "About a third of all seabird species in the world are threatened with extinction," Kress said. The goal is to engage the public and spur interest in seabird restoration, said Kress, who has worked with puffins for nearly four decades. It is so close to the bird you can look into its eye. The other camera is underground, inside a burrow showing a puffin in her nesting site. One camera shows puffins and other seabirds on the island's rocky ledges, flapping their wings and coming and going while waves crash on shore. The video marks the first time high-definition cameras have been used in North America to stream video of Atlantic puffins, said Steve Kress, director of Audubon's seabird restoration program. ![]() It has the largest puffin colony in the U.S. The refuge is located about 20 miles offshore. The stream is available to anyone with an Internet connection. The cameras were set up by the National Audubon Society and from Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge. ![]()
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