Cannon Beach, Oregon 2009

Originally uploaded by mnirishman

Watch for the many rare and spectacular birds that can be seen here. Haystack Rock is the closest accessible observation point to see tufted puffins
during their spring and summer nesting seasons. Tens of  thousands of common murres can be seen in spring and summer on Bird Rocks near Chapman Point. Many varieties of shorebirds are spotted on beaches and estuaries during spring and fall migrations. Look for a variety of seabirds and
ducks in fall and winter. From spring to early fall, pelicans can be observed soaring just above the waves or diving into the water with a splash. See bald eagles and peregrine falcons as they patrol the coast year-round.

You can read more about Cannon Beach here.

What an adorable flag! It comes in two sizes: Standard (40 inches by 40 inches and 1.9 ounces) and Garden (18 inches by 18 inches and 0.3 ounces).

Audubon Flag, Atlantic Puffin

Puffin Poster

(You can click on the poster to buy it!)

Paul A. Lanquist is a Northwest artist who currently lives near Mt. St. Helens Washington with his wife and family. Paul is a dedicated outdoor enthusiast, has been a commercial artist and Illustrator for 20 years and has worked for a variety of companies such as Fred Meyer, Danner Boots, GI Joe’s, Whole Foods, Luhr Jensen, and Princess Cruise Lines. His unique style captures the rugged, quaint, friendly and dignified personality of life in United States and Canada. Paul believes that part of being a good illustrator is learning to build from past experience and to study the work of other American illustrators. Through the years Paul has gravitated to the work of illustrators from the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s that use color and design to communicate their ideas in a straightforward way. The natural beauty of America is another important influence in Paul’s work. By combining the nostalgic look and feel of the past with the spectacular scenery of this country, Paul has created destination and travel items that capture the beauty and lifestyle found there.

Antonia Phillips is a Dorset artist and has does some fantastic seascapes and wildlife paintings. Her website is www.antoniaphillips.co.uk/index.htm . Bought from the artist. Image size 8.5inch x 7inch

One of our young readers had a birthday this week! And we wanted to wish her a very, very happy birthday! When we told the Maddhatress about our new friend having a birthday—she painted her a couple of happy birthday pictures! We scanned them in and here they are…

Happy Birthday from the Maddhatress (and Puffinpalooza.com)

Picture #2…for twice the fun!

And a second Happy Birthday from the Maddhatress and Puffinpalooza.com

See the puffin peeking out of the teapot door? Cute! Thanks Maddhatress and we hope our new friend had a wonderful birthday!

Atlantic Puffin swiming

Originally uploaded by victorcerutti

And yet another great photograph from victorcerutti on flickr.

This puffin is scooping down. Colorful beak. The clown of the sea swimming about finding food. Great action image capture.

Atlantic Puffin landing

Originally uploaded by victorcerutti

Another fantastic photo by victorcerutti on flickr. Poetry in motion. This is a puffin landing…they are pretty fast and this photographer captured the motion very well.

Wet Atlantic Puffin

Originally uploaded by victorcerutti

What a great photo. It shows the bill after mating season when it is not as colorful and it shows the puffin when it is wet. A very natural and wonderful photograph.

For reservations and information call 1-207-633-3244 – 1-800-636-3244 Email Cap’n Fish at mainewhales@adelphia.net

Email us at: mainepuffins@roadrunner.com

ABOUT PUFFINS

Stay at Cap’n Fish’s Waterfront Inn and receive discount tickets to Cap’n Fish’s Whale Watch and Scenic Boat Tours. Puffins are cool! With those big colorful beaks, dark soulful eyes and a penguin-like appearance, it’s hard not to like them. Puffins can typically be found in the very chilly waters of the North Atlantic, in places like Iceland and Norway. Lucky for us then that not far from Boothbay Harbor is the southernmost Atlantic Puffin colony in all of North America – Eastern Egg Rock. In Maine, Puffins are rare, and are actually listed as a Threatened Species. On Eastern Egg Rock, however, there are about 90 nesting pairs, along with perhaps a thousand pairs of Terns and other unusual seabirds. During the summertime, Puffins come ashore to raise their young, and the female lays her egg in a crevice under the tumble of boulders that line the shoreline of Eastern Egg Rock Once the chicks are full grown – usually by mid-August – all the Puffins leave their nesting island and fly out to sea to spend the winter. And they don’t come back to land til next April.

ABOUT THE TOUR

A Puffin-watching cruise is kind of like an ocean-going treasure hunt…. you just never know what’s going to show up! As we travel through Boothbay Harbor and search for all the marvelous sea creatures which call this area their home, seals often surface near the boat, or can be found sunning themselves on the rocks. A loon flies by. A Minke Whale surprises everyone with its sheer size and bulk. And, of course there are lighthouses, which we know as permanent treasures here on the New England coast. As the boat gets to Eastern Egg Rock, everyone is up and looking around for those pint-sized little Puffins. We scan the rocks and the skies, and then someone shouts, and lo and behold there is a group of Puffins sitting in the water, bobbing up and down, perhaps 50 or 60 feet from the boat. More fly by, and soon someone spots a bunch sitting on the granite boulders along shore. We slowly circle the seven-acre island once or twice, and dozens of large Eider Ducks spring from the water into flight. Laughing Gulls cry out with their loud, cackling vocalizations. And more puffins and their funny little cousins, the Black Guillemots, whiz past us, going about 40 miles an hour. When its time to start back, the excitement on the boat is still high. Success! We saw a bird that very few Mainers have ever seen – the ocean-going, charismatic Atlantic Puffin… ~ Peter Salmansohn, Project Puffin

PRICES AND SCHEDULE

See at first hand the National Audubon Society’s success in reestablishing a Puffin Colony on Eastern Egg Rock. Truly a magnificent “Seafari” for all nature lovers with seals, blue heron, an occasional whale and other coastal wildlife along the way. June – Wednesdays only 10:00 am July – Late August – Wednesdays, Sundays 10:00am 2 1/2 Hour Tour ADULTS: $25.00 CHILDREN $15.00

(Source: http://www.mainepuffin.com/)

Tufted Puffins are not found in the UK or possibly the whole of Europe. So imagine the surprise of the British people who saw one off the coast on September 16th at the Oare Marshes reserve in the Swale Estuary near Faversham about 1 1/2 hours east of London.

This little bird, the clown-of-the-sea, is definitely far from home in a place very different from the natural habitat of puffins which consists of rocky sea cliffs at the Oare Marshes. His unexpected appearance begs the question, how did the find his way to the UK?

It seems the sighting of the Tufted Puffin is as exciting for the British as it is for us puffin lovers—inspiring people to travel from hours away to see it for the first time in a place it never visits. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people in the UK.

It reminds me how lucky I am to be living in a state where the Tufted Puffin feels at home, Washington State. But for how much longer? With global warming, natural predators and a lack of funds to really help protect them? I cringe at the thought of losing the Tufted Puffin and revel in the mishap chance of a wayward Tufted Puffin finding its way to the coast of the UK. Maybe he fancied a spot of tea. Maybe he was simply lost at sea.

M Wright (Photo)

Whatever brought the Tufted Puffin to the UK pales in comparison to the joy he will bring to the bird lovers who will visit him while he is there. We should all enjoy the Tufted Puffin while we can—near or far from its home—with its long, fuzzy eyebrows and quirky little walk before he moves on to a different place…due to climate change or worse due to neglect, habitat loss or natural predators.