Wildlife Spotlight: Tufted Puffins (Fratercula cirrhata)

By Peter Winch
Published: July 2007

Puffin at the Farallons. Credit: J Hall

When traveling the offshore waters of the Sanctuary, it is always a delight to see Tufted Puffins, a vibrant flash of color amidst the exciting, but generally monotone seabirds and cetaceans of the Farallones.  Their breeding plumage lasts from early March until mid October and is notable for the large bright orange beak and long yellow feather tufts behind each eye, distinct on a white and black face.  During the winter months the white on the face and the tufts disappear, but the beak remains orange.

Puffins are a member of the alcid family of seabirds, which include auks, auklets, guillemots, murres and murrelets. These hearty birds are distinguished by their stout, streamlined bodies; short, narrow wings; thick, waterproof plumage; short tails; and feet set well back on the body. They are around 30 cm in length and weigh about three quarters of a kilogram.  Puffins spend most of their rugged life on the open ocean and only come to land during the breeding season.

Nesting

Tufted Puffins lay a single egg around May every year.  They nest deep in burrows, which they either dig themselves or take over from rabbits or other burrowing seabirds like Cassin's Auklets and Rhinoceros Auklets.  The egg hatches around June and the chick is fed on small baitfish like anchovies and sardines, which the parents bring to the chick in their beaks.  Some seabirds swallow and regurgitate food to their chick, but most alcids bring the fish to their young intact, clasped in their beaks.

Diet

The adults tend to have a more diverse diet that includes squid and small invertebrates.  Awkward on land and in the air, Puffins are fast and elegant underwater, adept at catching the elusive marine creatures that make up their diet.

Predators

Natural predators of Tufted Puffins include American Bald Eagles, coyotes and foxes.  Non-natural predators include domestic cats, rats and dogs, and rabbits are a threat as they compete for burrows.

Distribution

The Tufted Puffin stronghold is Alaska and British Columbia where the Aleutians and other remote islands and coastline make for undisturbed nesting areas.  Over 25,000 pairs have been recorded in a single colony off the coast of British Columbia.

The Farallon Islands is the southern-most breeding colony of the Tufted Puffin.  Historically they have nested as far south as the Channel islands in Southern California, but stopped breeding there in the 1940’s, in part due to encroachment by cats, rats and rabbits on the islands.

The population at The Farallon Islands has been at or around 160 for the last 20 years. The 2006 Farallon Island Seabird Report recorded 60 birds based on counts of active nest sites. This static or possibly decreasing population growth is an enigma for biologists. They hypothesize this lack of growth could be because of dwindling food supplies and competition for nesting sites.

Seeing Tufted Puffins in the Sanctuary

Tufted Puffins live in the offshore regions of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, and sightings from land are rare.

For a chance to see these unique and colorful birds scraping their bellies across the ocean surface, join us on a FMSA Whale Watching Trip out to the Farallones on July 28th and August 19th.