{"id":192963,"date":"2024-12-11T12:02:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T12:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/11\/wayward-baby-puffins-get-help-from-a-community-led-puffling-patrol\/"},"modified":"2024-12-11T12:02:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T12:02:04","slug":"wayward-baby-puffins-get-help-from-a-community-led-puffling-patrol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/11\/wayward-baby-puffins-get-help-from-a-community-led-puffling-patrol\/","title":{"rendered":"Wayward baby puffins get help from a community-led Puffling Patrol"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"699\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_iceland_map.png?fit=1440,699&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Wayward baby puffins get help from a community-led Puffling Patrol\" title=\"Wayward baby puffins get help from a community-led Puffling Patrol\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"video-embed\">\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text alignright\"\/>\n<p>When baby Atlantic puffins in Iceland venture out of the cliffside burrows where they had hatched, they look for the light of the moon. It will guide them to the sea. But nearby town lights sometimes confuse them. This leads many to make wrong turns en route to the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>A community-based Puffling Patrol searches for and rescues such pufflings that have gone astray in town.<\/p>\n<p>These chicks \u2014 and many of the colony\u2019s adults \u2014 are helping scientists who monitor and study the birds\u2019 largely mysterious lives at sea.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146914\">Earth: Andrew Oakley\/via Wikimedia Commons and NASA (<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/public-domain\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Public domain<\/a>); Iceland: Kirill Shrayber; adapted by J. Krumrine; adapted by L. Steenblik Hwang<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The range of Atlantic puffins spans the North Atlantic \u2014 from the coasts of Canada and the northeastern United States to Greenland and Russia. These birds spend most of their lives at sea.<\/p>\n<p>Iceland houses the breeding site of the world\u2019s largest Atlantic puffin colony. It\u2019s on Heimaey, a small, rocky island. Here, adult puffins pair up and spend the summer laying and incubating eggs, then raising a single chick.<\/p>\n<p>Nesting pairs of puffins prefer grassy seaside slopes above rocky cliffs, such as the one seen above this harbor in Heimaey. Each breeding pair occupies its own burrow. It\u2019s as if the cliff were a huge apartment complex.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery alignfull has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-51 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"773\" data-id=\"3146924\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor.jpg\" alt=\"a photo of a harbor in Heimaey, Iceland. A signpost to the right in the image has puffin shaped arrows\" class=\"wp-image-3146924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor-510x383.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor-248x186.jpg 248w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor-773x580.jpg 773w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor-263x197.jpg 263w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_harbor-560x420.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146924\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"1009\" data-id=\"3146915\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffparents.jpg\" alt=\"a puffling and a parent puffin just outside the burrow.\" class=\"wp-image-3146915\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffparents.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffparents-547x383.jpg 547w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffparents-642x450.jpg 642w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffparents-265x186.jpg 265w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffparents-768x538.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffparents-828x580.jpg 828w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffparents-1107x776.jpg 1107w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146915\">Rachel Bennett\/iStock\/Getty Images Plus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<p>For about six weeks, puffin parents care for their babies. They bring sandeels and other small oceanic fish to the pufflings. They also fend off predators, such as seagulls. The downy fluff around this puffling\u2019s neck (right, above) shows that it\u2019s not yet ready to fledge (fly off).<\/p>\n<p>By late August and September, the young pufflings are mature enough to live on their own. Over four to five weeks, tens of thousands of young birds ready themselves to fledge. To hide from birds of prey, they\u2019ll leave their burrows in the dark of night.<\/p>\n<p>Their instinct has always been to head for the open ocean. That\u2019s where they hunt small fish and grow. To find the ocean, they follow the moon \u2014 and its reflection off the water.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"773\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon.jpg\" alt=\"a photo of a gas station with bright lights at night, and the moon in the distance above as seen through clouds\" class=\"wp-image-3146923\" style=\"object-fit:cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon-510x383.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon-248x186.jpg 248w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon-773x580.jpg 773w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon-263x197.jpg 263w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_town-lights-and-moon-560x420.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146923\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But about 100 years ago, things got complicated. That when the island\u2019s only town, Vestmannaeyjab\u00e6r, got electricity. Ever since, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/night-lights-have-dark-side\">dazzled by night lights<\/a>, some baby puffins have taken a wrong turn \u2014 toward town and away from the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>Enter the Puffling Patrol. Equipped with flashlights, cardboard boxes and gloves, the folks in Heimaey head out in the dark during puffling-fledge season. Kids, like the ones poking around this gas station with their dad, search for lost chicks from about 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>On any given night, a dozen or more kids \u2014 groups of teens or younger kids with parents or grandparents \u2014 scour backyards, parking lots and rooftops. They search anyplace where the glow of town competes with moonlight. It\u2019s also a great excuse to stay up late.<\/p>\n<p>Puffin bones are dense and heavy. This helps them dive beneath the sea surface. But the young birds are inexperienced flyers. When pufflings end up in town instead of on a cliffside, they have trouble taking flight. That leaves them vulnerable to predators, such as cats.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery alignfull has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-52 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"960\" data-id=\"3146919\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_box.jpg\" alt=\"A small puffling in a box\" class=\"wp-image-3146919\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_box.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_box-575x383.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_box-675x450.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_box-279x186.jpg 279w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_box-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_box-870x580.jpg 870w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_box-1164x776.jpg 1164w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146919\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"973\" data-id=\"3146922\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_on-scale.jpg\" alt=\"a puffling on a scale being weighed\" class=\"wp-image-3146922\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_on-scale.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_on-scale-405x383.jpg 405w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_on-scale-476x450.jpg 476w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_on-scale-197x186.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_on-scale-768x725.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_on-scale-614x580.jpg 614w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_on-scale-821x776.jpg 821w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146922\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<p>It also makes them easy for kids to catch. It usually takes just a short chase to grab one of the birds. Kids put them in a cardboard box and then take them home.<strong\/><\/p>\n<p>In the wee hours of the morning, people weigh and log their rescued pufflings on the Puffling Patrol website. The only thing to watch out for are the pufflings\u2019 tiny, kitten-like claws.<\/p>\n<p>Come morning, the Patrol takes healthy rescues \u2014 pufflings large enough to live at sea \u2014 to the cliffs. Some people allow the pufflings to decide on their own when to launch themselves over the edge. From this height, the birds can catch some air. They\u2019ll fly as far as they\u2019re able before landing in the water.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery alignfull has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-53 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"2488\" data-id=\"3146921\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff.jpg\" alt=\"an overhead view of a puffling perched on a grassy cliff, with the ocean visible below\" class=\"wp-image-3146921\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff-222x383.jpg 222w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff-260x450.jpg 260w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff-108x186.jpg 108w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff-768x1327.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff-889x1536.jpg 889w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff-1185x2048.jpg 1185w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff-336x580.jpg 336w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_puffling-at-cliff-449x776.jpg 449w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146921\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"1831\" data-id=\"3146913\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall.jpg\" alt=\"a woman tosses a puffling up into the air on a cliffside above the water\" class=\"wp-image-3146913\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall-215x383.jpg 215w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall-253x450.jpg 253w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall-105x186.jpg 105w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall-326x580.jpg 326w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_release_tall-437x776.jpg 437w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146913\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Other pufflings get a boost. Above, Kim Cupples, a staff member at the island\u2019s Puffin Rescue Centre, releases a rescued puffling.<\/p>\n<p>Some rescues, however, need extra care.<\/p>\n<p>Pufflings that fell into the harbor may have been dirtied with oil from boats. Their feathers must be cleaned to become waterproof again. Without this help, the birds would not survive in the frigid North Atlantic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image  has-alignleft\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"1373\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_puffin-care.jpg\" alt=\"a puffling being examine by Puffin Rescue Center staff\" class=\"wp-image-3146920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_puffin-care.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_puffin-care-287x383.jpg 287w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_puffin-care-338x450.jpg 338w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_puffin-care-140x186.jpg 140w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_puffin-care-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_puffin-care-435x580.jpg 435w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffin_rescue_puffin-care-582x776.jpg 582w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146920\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Other pufflings may be found injured or underfed. The Puffling Patrol brings these birds to the Puffin Rescue Centre for treatment. It\u2019s run by Sea Life Trust, a charity that works to protect the world\u2019s oceans and the life within in.<\/p>\n<p>Left, two staff members, Chris Coates and Talia Soalt, examine an immature puffling that went to town before losing its down. The bird is healthy but needs to grow its adult feathers before it can survive at sea.<\/p>\n<p>Rescued pufflings also help scientists learn more about their species.<\/p>\n<p>Ecologist Erpur Sn\u00e6r Hansen leads a research team at the South Iceland Nature Research Center. His team monitors populations in Iceland\u2019s puffin colonies and works with puffin researchers in other countries. His work has turned up evidence that puffins <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1073\/pnas.1918060117\" rel=\"noopener\">are a tool-user<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Below, research assistant Lucas Canas Hernandez puts a ring on a rescued puffling\u2019s leg. That ring is like an ID band. It allows researchers to track the bird\u2019s location and age in a database. That helps scientists monitor puffin populations over time.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"893\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_ringing.jpg\" alt=\"research assistant Lucas Canas Hernandez puts a ring on a rescued puffling\u2019s leg\" class=\"wp-image-3146918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_ringing.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_ringing-442x383.jpg 442w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_ringing-519x450.jpg 519w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_ringing-215x186.jpg 215w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_ringing-768x666.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_ringing-669x580.jpg 669w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffling_rescue_ringing-895x776.jpg 895w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146918\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Adult puffins develop a brightly colored, striped beak and orange feet. Afterward, their appearance won\u2019t change as they continue to get older. So someone can only tell the age of a bird that was ringed as a puffling.<\/p>\n<p>During the 2024 season, the Puffling Patrol rescued more than 4,200 pufflings. That\u2019s slightly more than the human population of Heimaey! Hansen\u2019s team ringed some 400 of these young birds.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_adult_puffin.jpg\" alt=\"an adult puffin flying through a white sky with several tiny fish in its beak\" class=\"wp-image-3146916\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_adult_puffin.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_adult_puffin-575x383.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_adult_puffin-675x450.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_adult_puffin-279x186.jpg 279w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_adult_puffin-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_adult_puffin-870x580.jpg 870w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_adult_puffin-1164x776.jpg 1164w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146916\">Ingar St\u00f8yle Bringsvor<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Adult puffins spend most of their lives at sea, coming to land only to breed. Above is one of them that\u2019s just caught lunch.<\/p>\n<p>During breeding season, Hansen and his team fit adult puffins with battery-operated devices. One can be seen on the adult bird above. Called loggers, they have a global location sensor, or GLS. These loggers detect changes in daylight and record when the sun rises and sets. Such data can pinpoint a bird\u2019s location to within about 180 kilometers (110 miles).<\/p>\n<p>Finding and observing birds at sea can be nearly impossible. So, until GLS loggers became available, scientists knew little about where puffins went once their brief, land-based breeding season was over.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"1026\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_SEATRACK.png\" alt=\"a map of GLS data showing where puffins spend their time at sea\" class=\"wp-image-3146917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_SEATRACK.png 1440w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_SEATRACK-538x383.png 538w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_SEATRACK-632x450.png 632w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_SEATRACK-261x186.png 261w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_SEATRACK-768x547.png 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_SEATRACK-814x580.png 814w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_SEATRACK-1089x776.png 1089w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3146917\">SEATRACK<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Since 2014, researchers have been mapping GLS data in a project called <a href=\"https:\/\/seatrack.net\/\" rel=\"noopener\">SEATRACK<\/a>. Heimaey is shown with a black dot on this map. Areas in pink show where the puffins of Heimaey spend their time at sea.<\/p>\n<p>Such data are helping scientists understand what seabirds do offshore, why there are fewer and fewer of them and how we might protect them.<\/p>\n<p>Sandeels are the puffins\u2019 main food source. Although not true eels, these slender fish have an eel-like appearance. Warming temperatures tend to make this fish less abundant off Iceland, Hansen\u2019s group has found. So when these sandeels become scarce, puffins must fly farther to find them. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcticbiodiversity.is\/index.php\/program\/presentations2018\/422-135-year-time-series-of-atlantic-puffin-production-is-negatively-correlated-to-sea-surface-temperature-population-control-by-temperature-dependent-survival-of-ectotherm-sandeel-prey-erpur-hansen-1\" rel=\"noopener\">puffins stressed this way often produce fewer chicks<\/a>, this team reports.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image  has-alignleft\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"1215\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffinrescuecentreheimaey.jpg\" alt=\"a photo of the Puffin Rescue Centre building\" class=\"wp-image-3147359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffinrescuecentreheimaey.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffinrescuecentreheimaey-325x383.jpg 325w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffinrescuecentreheimaey-381x450.jpg 381w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffinrescuecentreheimaey-158x186.jpg 158w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffinrescuecentreheimaey-768x906.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffinrescuecentreheimaey-492x580.jpg 492w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1030_puffinrescuecentreheimaey-658x776.jpg 658w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3147359\">J. Krumrine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another threat these birds face is pollution, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0048969722040414\" rel=\"noopener\">mercury<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0025326X24000146\" rel=\"noopener\">plastics<\/a> and contaminants from shipping. Humans cause many ocean changes that are putting puffins at risk. Bird-migration studies can help find sites in the ocean where human activity should be restricted to protect these birds.<\/p>\n<p>When puffling season is over, Heimaey\u2019s seaside cliffs are quiet. Puffin burrows are empty. And kids of the Puffling Patrol can catch up on lost sleep and share their favorite pics.<\/p>\n<p>This year, three of the rescued pufflings couldn\u2019t be released. They wouldn\u2019t survive at sea. They now reside in captivity in the Puffin Rescue Centre alongside a rescued guillemot and a handful of adult puffins in permanent care. The rest of the puffins of Heimaey are now out at sea. Some have rings and some adults now wear new GLS loggers.<\/p>\n<p>Adult puffins return to the same colony \u2014 even the same burrow \u2014 each year. So, Iceland\u2019s scientists will wait patiently for the birds\u2019 return for the next summer\u2019s breeding season. Then they will briefly trap these adults and download info from their loggers.<\/p>\n<p>From these data, they\u2019ll weave together the story of each wanderer\u2019s ocean journey.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-signup__wrapper___lZ0W1 wp-block-house-ads wp-block-newsletter-signup\">\n<picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module@1x.png 1x,&#10;&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module@2x.png 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@1x.png 1x,&#10;&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@2x.png 2x\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"newsletter-signup__background___Eym8W\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@2x.png\" alt=\"\"\/><br \/>\n<\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__container___srNOL\" data-component=\"newsletter-signup\">\n<h3 class=\"newsletter-signup__heading___0EHmb\">\n\t\t\tEducators and Parents, Sign Up for The Cheat Sheet\t\t<\/h3>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__message___pemaq\">\n<p>Weekly updates to help you use <em>Science News Explores<\/em> in the learning environment<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"newsletter-signup__thankyou___K6GGN\">Thank you for signing up!<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-signup__error___hCsJI\">There was a problem signing you up.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/baby-puffins-rescue-iceland\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When baby Atlantic puffins in Iceland venture out of the cliffside burrows where they had hatched, they look for the light of the moon. It will guide them to the sea. But nearby town lights sometimes confuse them. This leads many to make wrong turns en route to the ocean. A community-based Puffling Patrol searches [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1440_puffling_rescue_iceland_map.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[606],"tags":[15,92182,18692,151233,151234,151232],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":192965,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192963\/revisions\/192965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}