Puffins, the distinctively marked seabirds known for their colorful beaks during the breeding season, are highly migratory animals. Their annual cycle is sharply divided between two habitats: coastal colonies where they raise their young and the open ocean. These birds spend the majority of their lives at sea, returning to land only for the brief period of reproduction. This pattern allows them to exploit seasonal food sources in both marine and terrestrial environments.
The Annual Migration Cycle
The annual migration is driven by the need to breed in secure, predator-free locations. Puffins typically arrive at their coastal colonies in the early spring, with exact timing varying from late February to May depending on the colony’s latitude. Upon arrival, pairs reunite, often returning to the same burrow to lay a single egg.
The period of nesting and chick-rearing, which involves both parents foraging for small fish, lasts for approximately three months. Once the single chick, known as a puffling, is fully developed and independent, a synchronized departure begins.
By late summer or early autumn, adult puffins leave the colony to return to their pelagic existence. The newly fledged chick departs on its own, swimming away from the coast and not setting foot on land again until it reaches maturity several years later. They remain in the oceanic environment for the next eight months.
Life on the Open Ocean: Wintering Grounds
Once they depart the breeding grounds, puffins disperse widely, often traveling hundreds or thousands of miles from land. This period is spent in a pelagic state, living entirely on the open ocean. The wintering grounds for Atlantic Puffins, for example, can range from the mid-Atlantic to the Gulf of Maine or the waters off Greenland.
Puffins are superb swimmers, using their wings to “fly” underwater in pursuit of prey like sandeels, sprat, and various marine invertebrates. They can dive to depths of up to 200 feet to catch their food, which sustains them through the winter months.
They rest by sleeping on the water, riding the ocean swells, and are often solitary, contrasting sharply with their gregarious colony life. During the winter, the adult puffin undergoes a complete feather moult at sea. This process includes shedding the brightly colored outer plates of their beak, leaving it smaller and duller until the following spring.
Migration Differences Among Puffins
The three main species of puffins—the Atlantic, Tufted, and Horned—exhibit distinct differences in their migration routes and winter destinations. Atlantic Puffins, found across the North Atlantic, show considerable variation in winter dispersal based on their breeding colony. Birds from some European colonies may winter in the Northwest North Sea, while those from the Gulf of Maine may travel as far south as the waters off the Mid-Atlantic states.
Tracking technology, particularly the use of miniature geolocators attached to the birds’ legs, has revealed these nuanced movements. These devices have shown that while some Atlantic Puffins remain relatively close to their breeding areas, others undertake transatlantic journeys, reflecting a highly flexible migration strategy.
Conversely, the Tufted and Horned Puffins are seabirds of the North Pacific. Tufted Puffins, which breed from California to Alaska, often migrate southward and offshore, with some populations traveling as far as the waters off Baja California for the winter. Horned Puffins, typically found in more northerly Pacific waters, also disperse far out to sea, though their specific winter ranges are still being mapped by scientists.