The restored puffin colony at Eastern Egg Rock began with four pairs in 1981 and then leveled off at about 16 pairs for nearly a decade before increasing to 19 pairs in 1996, 22 pairs in 1997 and 25 pairs in 1998. This is especially heartening since translocation of young chicks ended in 1986 and all recent colony growth is due to unbanded birds which are either young produced at Egg Rock or at neighboring islands. By 1998, 77 percent of the known Egg Rock breeders were unbanded birds which had likely hatched at the island or at other puffin colonies in the Gulf of Maine.

While the Egg Rock puffin colony is small compared to huge colonies in Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland and elsewhere, this tiny island has demonstrated that with enough persistence and care, restoration of lost seabird communities is possible. This is important because too often human enterprise results in the loss of colonies, leading to reduced ranges and increased vulnerability to catastrophes such as chemical spills, disease, extreme weather and predation.

For General Information and Questions: puffin@audubon.org

Mailing Address: Project Puffin 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, New York 14850 (607)257-7308