Rare Seabird Saved By Beach Watch Volunteers: 

The Horned Puffin (Fratercula cumiculata)

By Ivonne Garcia
Published: July 2006

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Photo credit: Sarah Lenz.

On February 17th of this year, FMSA Beach Watch volunteers conducting a beach survey at Bradley Beach (near Pescadero State Beach) spotted a Horned Puffin (Fratercula comiculata) near the shore. The bird was able to fly a short distance, but it was injured. The puffin was captured and transported to the Northern California chapter of the International Bird Rescue, where it was nurtured back to health.

International Bird Rescue staff, Michelle Bellizi, rehabilitation manager at the Center, said “The puffin was incredibly emaciated, we thought that it would likely not survive more than a few days.   However, after a week full of care, the puffin had gained back its weatherproofed wings, as well as its character, appetite, and 10% of its normal body weight.”  On March 12th, the bird was released, freed to roam the seas once again.

Normally, Horned Puffins live off the coast of Alaska, where the Aleut Natives used them for clothing and food.  However, sometimes their range also reaches into Washington during the summer breeding months.  During the other months the Horned Puffin flies far out into the Pacific Ocean, roaming the open waters. These birds are rare in the states of Oregon and California.  Quite out of its range at Bradley Beach in San Mateo Country, the Horned Puffin affectionately named the sea parrot, is among a batch of recently reported strays. During a phone call with Beach Watch Volunteer, Meg DeLano, who was at the site when the Horned Puffin was found at Bradley Beach, DeLano calmly exclaimed, “To save the life of such a rare and truly beautiful bird was one of the most memorable and special moments in my outdoors experience.” 

During this past year one Horned Puffin was sighted in Point Reyes, another in Santa Cruz and two more were brought into the International Bird Rescue in the same month that our Horned Puffin was taken in.  The colder waters in the north are the perfect environment for the Puffin but warming waters attributed to global warming will likely cause changes to the range of the Horned Puffin, and maybe more mysterious sightings in places along California’s coast. 

Named for the black “horn” or the vertical line ascending from the eyes, the Horned Puffin has been found to have similarities to a parrot and penguin with its colorful beak and black and white suit of feathers.  The distinct black and white coloration proves useful as camouflage against predators.  The black on the back of the bird acts as counter-shading against its white underbelly, making the horned puffin less visible from above against deep ocean water and less visible from below as the white underbelly of the puffin mimics the reflection of the sun off of the sea.  The vibrant red and yellow on their bill is a seasonal coloration, turning dull during the winter months along with their black feathers, which turn grey.

Puffin found by FMSA Volunteers . Photo credit: Meg DeLano.

Puffins, whose short wings are used for propelling in the water, are better known for their swimming capabilities than for their flying abilities.  Taking off for flight is not as easy for Puffins as other birds.  Due to their short wings, Puffins must have a running start or a cliff to launch themselves off of in order to gain the momentum for flight.  With the capability of diving 80 feet below sea level to catch fish or zooplankton, puffins are pelagic creatures, living most of their life out at sea.  These birds come ashore to breed, creating colonies on rocky shorelines.

A member of the Auk family, Horned Puffins usually lay one egg per breeding season.  The monogamous parents take turns incubating the egg for about a month and a half or approximately 40 days.  Once the young become independent, juveniles will stay out at sea for an entire year, only breeding after they are three to four years old.

Human disturbance is a huge contributor to Puffin decline in Alaska.  When disturbed by humans, Horned Puffins tend to leave their nests.  Since these birds spend so much time at sea, oil spills are also incredibly harmful to population numbers. 

To read more about Horned Puffins, Tufted Puffins, and other seabirds go to:

http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/seabird_foragefish/index.html

http://www.projectpuffin.org/species.html

http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/bird/puffins.php

http://birding.about.com/library/weekly/aa082397.htm