Women skiing for women. The Alaska Ski for Women is “North America’s largest women-only cross-country ski event. This is a partner event where women of all ages and abilities come out to Nordic ski approximately 2.4 miles (4K), many in colorful costumes, while raising funds for local non-profit organizations that help stop the cycle of domestic abuse against women and children.”

Read more here and here.

This puffin means business. =) Two-for-one puffins in this photo with the Tufted Puffin looking at the camera and the Horned Puffin in the background. This photo was taken at the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward. Ironically, the Alaska Sealife Center was funded in part by the settlement from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Interesting.

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.

NAME THIS PUFFIN!

If you want to help pick this adorable mascot’s name and possibly WIN some prizes…all you have to do is send an email BY May 13th at 5:00 pm Alaska Daylight Time to puffinmascot@alaskasealife.org with the following information:

1.  Your idea for the puffin mascot’s name*
2.  Name of person submitting entry
3.  Mailing address
4.  Phone number
5.  E-mail address

Or mail it to:
Alaska SeaLife Center
Attn:  Puffin Mascot,
PO Box 1329
Seward, AK 99664

You can read more here.

Alaska: America’s Wildest State By John Schweider

Alaska: America's Wildest State By John Schweider

It is self-published so you will be supporting an excellent photographer. If you are interested in this book click here.

(We do not receive any profit from recommending this book—it just honestly has some good puffin photographs).

The Rhinoceros Auklet, Cerorhinca monocerata, is a seabird considered, despite its name, a close relative of the puffins. It is the only living species of the genus Cerorhinca. Given its close relationship with the puffins the common name Rhinoceros Puffin has been proposed for the species.

It ranges widely across the North Pacific feeding on small fish and nesting in seabird colonies. Its name is derived from a horn-like extension of the beak. This horn is only present in breeding adults, and like the elaborate sheath on the bill of puffins is shed every year.

The Rhinoceros Auklet (also known as the Rhino Auklet, Horn-billed Puffin, or Unicorn Puffin), is a medium sized auk with a large, strong, orange/brown bill (with the ‘horn’ protruding from it). The plumage is dark on top, paler below, and the breeding adults, both male and females possess white plumes above the eyes and behind the bill. Males are slightly larger than females (about 10% in mass).

The Rhinoceros Auklet is a North Pacific auk that breeds from California (the Channel Islands) to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska in North America; and Hokkaidō and Honshū, Japan, as well as North Korea and Sakhalin Island in Asia. It winters both in offshore and inshore waters, exhibiting some migration.

The Rhinoceros Auklet nests in burrows dug into the soil or in natural caves and cavities between 1 to 5 m deep. It prefers nesting sites on slight inclines to aid take-off (as it is a poor flier). A single egg is incubated by both parents for 45 days, the semiprecocial chick is then fed each night with a bill full of fish (in the manner of puffins) for 50 days. The nocturnal behaviour is believed to be a response to predation and kleptoparasitism by gulls.

At sea Rhinoceros Auklets feed on fish, with some krill and squid taken also. They feed inshore during the breeding season in the midwater. To catch their prey, they dive to as deep as 57 meters (187 ft) for as long as 148 seconds.

Evolution and prehistoric species

The genus Cerorhinca evolved in the North Pacific, apparently in the mid-late Miocene. Although today only one species remains, it used to be much more diverse, both in number of species and in distribution; fossils have been found as far south as Baja California. Known prehistoric species are:

* Dubious Auklet, Cerorhinca dubia (Late Miocene of San Barbara County, USA)
* Cerorhinca minor (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Cedros Island, Mexico)
* Cerorhinca reai (San Diego Late Pliocene, SW USA)

(Above information from Wikipedia)…

If you want to see the Rhinoceros Auklet on webcam, you can see it at the California State Parks website. Click here, then scroll down — on the left side click on “HD Sealcam”. This is a camera set up to record the nighttime species. The Auklet takes care of its young and eggs at night. They burrow at night. =)

Rhinoceros Auklet, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, OR

Originally uploaded by chuqui

This photograph was taken by Chuqui on flickr at the , Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon.

The Rhinoceros Auklet is not very well known but it is considered, by some, to be part of the puffin family. They are debating on whether they should rename it the Rhinoceros Puffin since it is so closely related to the puffin family.

Is a puffin a puffin by any other name?

Apparently. This puffin has many names: Cerorhinca monocerata, the Rhino Auklet, the Horn-billed Puffin or the Unicorn Puffin. (I think I prefer the latter but I’ll try to use all of them to get us accustomed to them all.) This cute little bird gets its name because of the horn-like extension on its beak but they only get this fancy beak when they are ready to breed. And it, like all puffin’s bills, sheds it sheath every year.

The Unicorn Puffin lives in colonies on the ocean shores much like the three other puffins. They prefer the North Pacific Ocean breading all along it from California to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. They can also be found in Japan, North Korea and Sakhalin Island in Asia. They spend their winters in the water and their summers breeding near the water.

They like to eat small fish, krill and squid. According to Wikipedia,

“they feed inshore during the breeding season in the midwater. To catch their prey, they dive to as deep as 57 meters (187 ft) for as long as 148 seconds.” Interesting swimmer fishing.

The Cerorhincas evolved in the Miocene period, some 23.03 to 5.33 million years ago. That is a long time. This is an old species. There once was at least 3 other varieties of the cerorhincas (the Dubious Auklet — wonder what he was dubious about, perhaps the fishers that made him disappear?, the Cerorhinca minor and the Cerorhinca reai) but they have all disappeared now and only the Rhino Auk are left.

But it still has the other 3 puffins out there. I hope we can ensure they all survive for a very, very, very long time.

The Tufted Puffin has the long eyebrows (really they are feathers but they look like long eyebrows or a slick hairdo). It is found on the West coast of the U.S. and Canada, from California up to B.C. up to Alaska. It can also be found in the Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and throughout the Sea of Okhotsk.

You can tell the Tufted Puffin from other puffins not only by the long feathers on its head but also by its dark belly.

This is a beautiful bird and happens to live off the coast of my state. However, going to see them is no easy task. They are well protected. This is a good thing for them. =)