Researchers Concerned Over the Reduced Puffin Population That Return to Maine Islands(Video)

Puffins, comical parrot-penguin seabirds, have once again arrived on the Maine islands, hosts to the largest colonies of birds in the United States. Unlike last summer when several puffin chicks died due to starvation, this nesting season the puffins have found plenty of food for their young chicks.

Last summer several young puffin chicks died of starvation due to a shortage of herrings. The adult puffins were forced to feed their young ones butterfish that are too big for the small puffins to swallow, reports Associated Press.

"This summer, the chicks are getting plenty of hake and herring," said Steve Kress, director of the National Audubon Society's seabird restoration program and professor at Cornell University.

Despite the improving conditions for puffins, the researchers are concerned over the fate of the bird as their dwindling number is not a good sign and fear that this issue will persist.

According to Kress, the two largest puffin colonies, the puffin burrows on Maticinus Rock and Seal Island, witnessed a one third drop in occupancy. This means that the birds either died during the winter or were not strong enough to reproduce. These two Maine islands are monitored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as the Audubon Society.

Puffins have brightly colored beaks with a mix of reddish orange stripes and yellow spots. The 10 inches long puffins are a cross between a bird and a fish because they are pelagic seabirds that feed by diving in the water. They can dive up to 200 feet below the surface with each dive lasting for 20-30 seconds. They fly at the speed of 55 miles an hour. They are capable of carrying several fish at a time. They dig burrows in order to escape the clutches of predators. They lay 1 egg per year and can live up to 20 years.

A century ago the puffin population was almost wiped out because they were hunted for their eggs, meat and feathers. Most of them perished due to the destruction of their habitat. Accept for the two isolated colonies, the birds have disappeared from the Gulf of Maine.

A recolonization effort named Puffin Project was launched 40 years back by Kress and his team. As a part of the project, chicks from Newfoundland were relocated to manmade burrows on Eastern Egg Rock located in Muscongus Bay. Later, they were again transferred to other Maine Islands, reports Associated Press.

Compared to the other seabirds, puffins are more susceptible to environmental changes. The researchers claim that it is difficult to end the decline in their population but their vulnerability to the environment can help study the changes in the ocean and its effect.