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.

Technology may help save the puffins of Farne Isles. We must first understand the puffins and their habits completely before we can help rectify the strains that are leading to decling numbers. This is exactly what they are doing at the National Trust Farnes Isles. Led by Dr Richard Bevan from Newcastle University researchers used up-to-date GPS Logging equipment to track 12 birds,¹

“…birds to follow their fishing expeditions out from the islands and back. Results reveal that they now appear to be travelling about 20 miles out from the islands – whereas they were previously thought to head anything up to 60 miles away.”

This information is vital to scientist and researchers in helping preserve the much-needed feeding areas and helping puffin populations thrive.

1. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/press/feeding-flight-paths,1377651.html [↩]

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…

Talking to the Zookeepers pays off!! Next time you visit a zoo—say hello and don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Tufted puffin couple at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, WA

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium currently has 20 tufted puffins in its exhibit, 9 males and 11 females. The tufted puffins range in age from 1 to 31. They currently have the oldest living puffin in captivity at 31 years of age!! He is only 3 years younger than me! =) Not only is he the oldest living puffin in captivity but tufted puffins are thought to only be capable of producing and raising chicks until their mid-twenties but this 31-year-old tufted puffin is a proud papa this year! The Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium also has the oldest living female in captivity at 27 years old. And if all this isn’t enough to make you get excited they also have 3 tufted puffin pairs that they believe are raising chicks this year. I wrote ‘they believe’ because the zookeepers try to let the tufted puffins raise the chicks as naturally as possible so the zookeepers do not check on their progress. They wait and are surprised by the little ones in the exhibit. How fun is that?!?

This is one of the tufted puffin mothers who had a chick this year

The youngest tufted puffin chick at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium as of August 2009!

The Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium is currently in the middle of some intensive training with their puffins as well. In the past year they have been training them to eat from the zookeepers’ hands so that they can better deliver any vitamins and medications the puffins may need. The training has been extremely successful so far. Part of this training for the last 6 months included working on scale training the puffins (training the puffins to step on a scale in order to get more frequent weights) instead of having to catch the puffins and hold them to get their weight. Catching them is extremely stressful for the puffins and so the the new weighing techniques has been very effective for both the zookeepers and the puffins. The Pt. Defiance Zoo now has weights on all birds except for about 4.

It is amazing what some hard work can produce! These quirky adorable little birds are definitely smarter than the zookeepers realized. I, for one, am looking forward to discovering more about the little pufflings and the progress of the training at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium!

For more information on the puffin exhibit (within the Rocky Shores exhibit) at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium—you can visit them online at their official website or in person at:

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium
5400 N Pearl St # D Ruston, WA 98407-3296
(253) 591-5337

What are the hours and days of operation to see the puffins at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium? The zoo is open from 9:30-6:00 until September 7. After that the zoo is open from 9:30-5:00. The birds can be viewed any time during those hours, their exhibit is never closed.

When are the best times to go to see the puffins at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium if you have questions?
They feed their puffins 3 times a day during breeding season, twice a day during non-breeding season. As of right now, they are fed at approximately 8:00, 12:00-1:00, and 3:00-3:30. They will discontinue the last feeding during non-breeding season. This isn’t really definitive, but there is not a set schedule to when they feed their animals but this is a good guess. I will update you when I find out more…

Sharing is Sweet – Puffins in Love

Originally uploaded by idg

Puffin love is enduring and everlasting.

Puffin couple stay together for life. They start having puffin babies (breeding) when they are about five years old. There is no definitive lifespan for the puffin. Some still breed at 10 years old and some have been known to live almost 40 years. So, these couples really are in it for a lifetime.

Puffins share. They share food. They take turns digging and protecting their burrows and they even share the duties of caring for their children. Both the male and the female help to incubate the eggs by taking turns holding them tight under their wing, where there are small patches of bare-skin with lots of blood supply. Once the baby pufflings are born the parents also share the work in feeding them. One keeps it warm and protects and the other collects its food. They do everything together.

When puffins fly out to sea, if they cannot find their mate, they will meet back at the burrow and fly back to sea together to breed. To show affection they often rub their beaks together, commonly known as “billing”. They also have been heard cooing at one another. How cute is that?

Puffins are romantic birds, aren’t they?

Sources:
Angel, Heather. Puffins. New York: Evans Mitchell Books, 2007.

http://www.alaskastock.com/Puffin_Photos.asp

http://www.audubon.org/bird/puffin/puffins.html