Nuffin' but Puffins
I knew nothing about puffins before we went and saw them at Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach. But then I started learning more about them and figured I should share some of the facts I learned!
Fact: There are four types of puffins
Rhinoceros Auklet
Rhinoceros Auklets are misnamed because they’re more closely related to puffins than auklets. They’re live in the Pacific, along with their Tufted Puffin cousins, often seen off the coast of Alaska down to Washington and even all the way down off the coast of California during the nonbreeding season.
In 2019 researchers found that their little “horn” on their beak reflects ultraviolet light. It looks a dull gray to us but glows for animals that can see UV light; like Rhinoceros Auklets. Scientists think it might help them see each other underwater when they’re diving for food or help them identify each other at night in the breeding colonies. (I’m sorry but nature is so weird and I love it. Like, “here Mr. Bird, have a glowing beak, it’ll come in handy!”)
Horned puffins are also found in the Pacific along the coast of Alaska. They’re much harder to spot because of the time spent very from from shore at sea and their remote nesting areas. They’re called “horned” because that little stripe above their eye is actually a little fleshy “horn”.
The Atlantic Puffin can be found, of course, in the Atlantic, off the eastern coast of the US and Canada, as well as Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, and Norway. Iceland has the largest population of puffins in the world. Oskar Sigurdsson, the lighthouse keeper on Westman’s Island, has spent over 60 years banding pufflings (I know, the name for baby puffins is adorable). His prolific contribution to science and wildlife conservation earned him a spot in the Guiness Book of World records for banding over 90,000 birds–55,000 of which were pufflings.
Atlantic puffins are having breeding failures because of warming waters in the Atlantic, although their population is re-establishing itself in the US after years of being hunted.
The Tufted Puffin was the one that Jason and I made the trip out to Cannon Beach for. Always dressed for a very fancy party, these puffins fly back to the same rock where they were born to nest. Young tufted puffins are thought to live their first 3 years of life entirely at sea, only returning to their birth place to nest once they reach mating age. Tufted puffins mate for life and lay one egg per mating season. Not much is known about how they spend their winters because they’re hard to track and have been known to gnaw off their banding.
Tufted puffins nesting in Alaska
Fact: Tufted Puffins are struggling.
And warming sea temperatures are endangering puffins worldwide.
The Tufted Puffin population at Haystack Rock in 1980 was about 600. The population was 106 in 2023 and 102 in 2024. Possible causes are fish declines (also from sea temperature rise), increased predation from bald eagles, oil spills, habitat loss, and competition from introduced species.
Fact: Pufflings leave the nest under the cover of night to hide from predators and head to the open ocean.
After about 6 weeks, pufflings are ready to leave the nest and head for the open ocean. They jump off of their nesting cliff, getting as much air as possible before landing in the water. (Watching puffins fly is pretty anxiety inducing. They fly through the water but look like they’re about to drop out of the sky at any minute, flapping furiously to keep elevation).
Fact: Tufted puffins can hold up to 20 fish in their beak at one time. They eat underwater, so when you see a puffin carrying fish, they’re bringing food back to the nest.
Fact: Atlantic puffins can dive to depths of 200 feet and go about 55 miles per hour in the water by flapping their wings.
Tufted puffins floating off the coast of Alaska
I learned so much in this deep dive about puffins (ha!). Thanks for learning about puffins with me!