My dearest friends went to the Point Defiance Zoo again today and spent a lot of time with the puffins! They had so much fun. Apparently, the little puffins were very friendly today. One came right up to the barrier, so close they could have picked it up! They did not though because that would set a bad example and could harm the little bird. The puffins at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington are Tufted Puffins. And they are adorable! The gave these pictures and videos to me so I can share with all of you!
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
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…
A friend is visiting New York and she went to the Central Park Zoo where she promptly sent me a photo from her cell phone.
Tufted Puffins at the NYC Central Park Zoo
According to the official Central Park Zoo they have approximately 15 Tufted Puffins at their location. =) YAY for puffins!
For now, here is the general information about the NYC Central Park Zoo in case you wish to visit:
Location: East Side between 63rd and 66th Streets
Detail:
- Hours: April – Oct. Monday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm, Weekends 10 am – 5:30 pm; Nov. – March Daily 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- Admission to Wildlife Center includes admission to Children’s Zoo: Adults $10.00; Senior Citizens (65+) $7.00; Children 3-12 $5.00; Children under 3, Free
- General Information: 212-439-6500
I am working on a puffin finder page. I should be finished within the week. It will have both the natural habitats and the zoos, sanctuaries, aquariums etc. where you can find puffins.
YAY!!! If you know of a place that is NOT listed that has puffins, please email me.
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.
