We simply can never have ENOUGH puffin coloring pages, can we? I found some new free puffin coloring pages on various sites today. You can download them, print them out and color them. You can even send them to me after scanning them in or email me below to get my mailing address to mail them once they are finished and I will post them to Puffinpalooza. I will do this for an entire class even! The offer is open for anyone interested!
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.
One very passionate and creative man, Henry Lappen, took his love and knowledge for birds coupled with his passion for performance arts and created an educational artistic experience for all: A Passion For Birds. According to his website,
A Passion for Birds uses masks to inspire an appreciation and understanding of the avian world. Captivated by Henry Lappen’s beautiful masks and comic portrayal of birds, participants learn how animals adapt to their environment, and why they look and act the way they do.
Birds’ beaks are compared with common tools.
Feathers and footprints are explored.
Science facts and anecdotes are shared.
A Passion for Birds covers several of the core curriculum standards for science. A curriculum guide is available.
Henry’s combined love and knowledge of birds, and his extraordinary ability as a performer make for a very lively show.
Throughout it all, Henry dances among the crowd demonstrating the form and motion of the different species. Learning some specific mime skills, and imaging more, the audience joins him, taking on the character of each bird while gaining additional knowledge about it. Participants don the masks, and soar as Eagles, stalk as Herons and swim as Puffins. Additional topics include nest building, preening and hiding from danger.
One of his birds of choice is the ATLANTIC PUFFIN!!! =) See the photograph below of his puffin mask…
You can watch a video clip of the performance here. Or if you are in the Massachusetts area in the end of July,
“The Massachusettes Department of Conservation and Recreation will present “A Passion for Birds”, a comic, interactive, educational show, at 11 a.m. Sunday, July 31, at Wachusett Mountain State Reservation 345 Mountain Road. Created and performed by Henry Lappen, “A Passion for Birds” (formerly Birds in Their Habitat) uses realistic, handmade masks to explore how different birds have evolved different shapes and behaviors to adapt to their environment. Participants get a chance to try on the masks and soar as Eagles, swim as Puffins, and stalk as Herons. This program is free and registration is not required. For information, call Matt at (978) 464-2987.”1
Little pufflings often get lost when they leave their burrow, city lights confuse them and they don’t always make it out to sea. They wander into towns and could potentially die. So this town has learned how to help these baby puffins make it out to sea… watch for yourself…
I read this wonderful article giving the history of a biologist who set out to restore the puffin population and succeeded! You should definitely read this article!
Photo Source: Jose Azel
“Atlantic puffins had nearly vanished from the Maine coast until a young biologist defied conventional wisdom to lure them home.”
I came across this short little video of two puffins, just hanging around and thought it was worth sharing. It was taken and shared by a man named Andrew on Flickr. He gave me permission to post his pictures on the site so I will! =)
You can watch the video here. I would post it but I cannot. It will open in a new window so you won’t technically leave this site.
Here are the photographs he took:
Photo Source: Andrew Green (http://www.flickr.com/photos/polandeze/)
Photo Source: Andrew Green (http://www.flickr.com/photos/polandeze/)
Photo Source: Andrew Green (http://www.flickr.com/photos/polandeze/)
Shetland.org has set up a live Puffin web cam and they are currently waiting for some pufflings to hatch! They are thought to be hatching between June 10th and June 15th! This means we can actually WATCH a puffling being born LIVE! How fantastic would that be!? A miracle for certain. And it is not like these little sea clowns won’t amuse us in the meanwhile, right?
Click on the link below or either picture to get to the Puffin cam
OH! I found another puffin cam…this one has its own website and forums to have discussions… you should check it out!
According to their website:
Puffin Cam is broadcasting live pictures from the small island of Burhou.
Burhou Island is 1.5 km off the coast of the channel island of Alderney. Burhou is a paradise for seabirds as there are no rats or cats and very little human disturbance on the island.
Puffin Cam is a way to observe these beautiful birds, in their natural habitat, as they go about their daily lives.
Watch out for Puffins leaving and entering their burrows, rafting in groups just off shore and, later in the season, bringing fish home for their growing chicks. This project is in collaboration with The Wildlife Trusts and Alderney Wildlife Trust and has been made possible with support from Airtel-Vodafone, The States of Alderney, South East Grid for Learning (SEGfL) and Sesys
Click HERE to see their website (or click on the picture above!)
INTERESTING FACT
It was onced believed that a Puffin was a fish as well as a bird. People thought it was born from rotting piece of wood floating in the sea, instead of hatching out from an egg as we know it does today.
