Efforts for Puffins and Other SeabirdsĪBC has developed a free, interactive mapping and information tool to help fishers and fisheries managers assess their risk of seabird bycatch and take appropriate measures to minimize or eliminate bycatch in their operations. With “denticles” on the roof of their mouths and a locking tongue, the birds are able grab and hold 5 to 20 small fish crosswise for delivery to chicks at the nest. The birds dig burrows up to five feet deep into cliff edges and slopes their beaks and feet are specialized for this excavation work.Īnother adaptation, heavy bones, allows the Tufted Puffin to dive up to 200 feet in pursuit of prey, mostly fish and squid the birds can stay underwater for more than a minute. Tufted Puffins nest in dense breeding colonies, forming long-term pair bonds to care for their young. Tufted Puffin in burrow by Maksimillian, Shutterstock Amazing Adaptations Such predators were once absent from most offshore islands in the northeast Pacific, and the puffins have no defense against them. Nesting Tufted Puffins are vulnerable to introduced predators such as rats and foxes. Sign up for ABC's eNews to learn how you can help protect birds In addition, plastic trash in the ocean is often mistaken for food by hungry puffins and other seabirds, which risk starvation when they fill up on undigestible plastic instead of fish. Dual Threat: Overfishing and Climate ChangeĬhanges in the distribution and abundance of forage fish due to overfishing and climate change are apparently causing declines in southern populations of Tufted Puffin, while increasing northern populations as birds shift their range northward. Sadly, bycatch in fishing nets kills thousands of Tufted Puffins and other seabirds, such as Marbled Murrelet, Pigeon Guillemot, and Common Murre, each year.įisheries are depleting the Tufted Puffin's main sources of food, small species known as “forage fish.” Competition for forage fish is growing as people harvest them for livestock feed in addition to taking fish for human consumption. Even so, puffins are powerful flyers, beating their wings 300-400 times a minute and reaching speeds up to 40 miles per hour. No surprise their other name (in Norway) is Parasitic Jaeger.This distinctive member of the auk family is larger than other puffin species, but the species is best differentiated by its bold white mask and golden head plumes in the breeding season.Īs with other members of the family Alcidae (web-footed diving birds), the Tufted Puffin's wings are relatively short and adapted for swimming underwater. Me in 4th grade when I had the big bag of Cheetos That bird is probably the one who stole my lean cuisine from my work fridge. I feel like i just watched the 2016 election all over again.Īt least We can stop wondering why puffins look so worried all the time /0zm28Qe5VtĪt least We can stop wondering why puffins look so worried all the time

Like me not eating any chips out the bag on the way home from McDonald’s Puffin done a 60 mile round trip to get a little fish to take back to the family without eating any. Like me not eating any chips out the bag on the way home from McDonald's #BLUEPLANET Puffin done a 60 mile round trip to get a little fish to take back to the family without eating any. I am actually devastated for that Puffin that got it fish robbed I am actually devastated for that Puffin that got it fish robbed #BluePlanet Blue Planet II viewers find this scenario highly troubling…but also relatable. Can you believe this ish? Neither could the internet. Like puffins, Arctic skuas are seabirds, but unlike wonderful, hard-working puffins, these jerkwads of the beach will run down other birds - puffins, specifically - rough them up, and steal the fish that they’ve traveled 60 miles roundtrip to get. They have a small collection of 'exotic' salsas like blackberry or mango, as well as regular tomato salsas. Their cuisine is Caribbean influenced, and the restaurant is pirate themed. I dont think they ever really do specials.

Puffins hate Arctic Skuas, because they’re jerks.Īrctic skuas are the pirates of this coast stealing the puffin’s catch with speed and stealth #BluePlanet2 /SjqEERQ1DeĪrctic Skuas are the pirates of this coast stealing the puffin’s catch with speed and stealth. Puffins food is good, although their menu never changes.

(And together they create “pufflings.” Sorry, it’s a fun and adorable word, “pufflings.”) (Which, as you remember, are adorably called “pufflings.”)

Puffins will travel 60 miles (or more) to get the fish they need to feed their young.

Here are some fun facts about puffins ascertained from Blue Planet 2:

Puffin food