Kick off the summer loafing season by watching Atlantic Puffins lounge on Seal Island off the coast of Maine. The Puffin Loafing web cam provides excellent viewing of these birds and others as they fly in to rest on a rocky outcrop.
According to the Seal Island Wildlife Refuge:
Seal Island is managed in cooperation with National Audubon Society and in 1970s successfully reintroduced Atlantic puffins to the island by transporting chicks from Newfoundland, Canada. Seal Island also supports one of the largest tern colonies in the Gulf of Maine, supporting over 2,100 pairs of Arctic and common terns.
The only way to view the bird activity at this place is through the web cam - the island is actually closed to the public due to the presence of unexploded ordnance from years of being a naval target starting in the 1940’s.
There is an island, Machias Seal Island, which is 10 miles off the coast of Maine that does allow visitors to land and observe. There are various charter boats that provide tours and photographic opportunities from bird blinds.
There is also a web cam streaming a puffin nest - click on Puffin Burrow. Hatching occurs in June/early July.
When the young hatch, they are called “pufflings” which just adds to the cuteness factor of these special seabirds!
