Puffins

Wednesday we went to two of the islands in the Witless Bay Ecological Preserve.  They are uninhabited and are protected bird colonies.  Several hundred thousand birds nest on these islands every year.  The most famous of the resident species is the Atlantic Puffin of which below is a rescued fledgling.  This one decided to leave his nest on his maiden flight that ended up on land rather than at sea.  Either blown ashore by wind or attracted by light it is unlikely that he/she would make it back to sea without help as their take off from land is next to impossible so we are told.  (we went to the Puffin rescue Tuesday morning prior to our afternoon hike).

The young ones (and old ones too when not in mating and nesting mode) do not have the distinctive colorful beak.  

Juregen Schau, a German, who spends his summers here started the "Puffin Patrol" to rescue landed fledglings and it has become quite the big deal.  He is a charming fellow who tells a good story well.

He enlisted a number of volunteers to carry boxes of puffins (note the last guy in line) to be put on board a zodiac to be taken out to sea for launch.  Normally they do not take them out to sea but toss them into the air at oceanside, but this particular day due to the wind and rain they were taken out to sea.  ( I told youall in yesterdays post the weather was bad.)

Back to the Preserve —  this morning Patt and I suited up in life suits to board a zodiac and go to the preserve.  A great boat ride too. Five passengers and the boat driver.

not your big ferry boat and out at sea these zodiacs are a treat to ride.

We rode along cliffs and actually went into that cave in the cliff up on the left.

and below is a photo of Green Island, one of the four islands in the preserve.  So named because of its color I assume?  When the motor was slowed the sound of the birds was almost overwhelming and the smell did not need the motor to be reduced to notice.

Here you can see some puffins, they actually dig burrows into the side of the island to lay their egg.

and just a few more of them.  Blacklegged kittiwakkes and common murres are there as well.  Several types of gulls are present. The gulls are there as predators.

That's the boat.  Three bench seats.

And that is where we are staying — ocean view.