Maine offers the only nesting sites for Atlantic Puffins in the contiguous United States. These distinctive seabirds are a key part of Maine’s coastal ecosystem.
Maine’s Puffin Population
During their breeding season, Atlantic Puffins display a vibrant, colorful beak featuring stripes of red-orange, blue-gray, and yellow, along with a black back and head, a white belly, and bright orange legs and feet. Their short, stubby wings allow them to fly low over the ocean and propel themselves underwater, similar to penguins.
Puffins spend most of the year on the open ocean, returning to rocky, isolated islands off the coast of Maine for their breeding season. They prefer islands with suitable nesting surfaces, such as rocks with crevices or peat-like sod where they can dig burrows.
Prime Locations and Viewing Seasons
The best time to see Atlantic Puffins is during their breeding season, from late May through August, with peak viewing in June and July.
Several islands off the Maine coast serve as nesting grounds and prime viewing locations for puffins. These include Eastern Egg Rock in the midcoast region, Seal Island and Matinicus Rock at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, and Machias Seal Island and Petit Manan Island off the downeast coast. While most islands do not permit landing, Machias Seal Island is a rare exception where visitors can disembark and view puffins from close range within designated blinds.
Organized boat tours are the primary method for viewing puffins, departing from towns such as Boothbay Harbor, New Harbor, Cutler, and Bar Harbor. These tours often include naturalists who provide commentary on the birds and their habitat. When viewing, bring binoculars for better observation and maintain a respectful distance to avoid disturbing the birds.
The Story of Puffin Conservation in Maine
Atlantic Puffins in Maine today are a testament to conservation efforts. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, puffins had been nearly extirpated from Maine due to overhunting and egg collection. By 1902, only a handful remained in a single colony on Matinicus Rock.
In 1973, the National Audubon Society initiated Project Puffin, a seabird restoration program led by Stephen Kress. The project aimed to reintroduce puffins to their historic nesting islands, starting with Eastern Egg Rock.
Techniques included translocating puffin chicks (pufflings) from larger colonies in Newfoundland to Maine. These young birds were hand-reared in artificial burrows on the islands, fed daily until they fledged.
To encourage adult puffins to return and nest, researchers used social attraction methods, such as placing wooden decoys and playing recorded puffin calls. Mirrors were also used to create the illusion of a larger colony.
This work proved successful; by 1981, the first puffling was reared by puffin parents on Eastern Egg Rock. Today, over 1,300 mating pairs nest across five islands in Maine, with populations reaching approximately 3,000 birds at some colonies. Project Puffin’s methods have since been adopted globally for seabird restoration, making Maine’s conservation story a success.