With their beautiful colored beaks, Tufted Puffins Fratercula cirrhata have long been one of my favorite birds. I was stationed in Tacoma Washington, Madigan General Hospital for my Army service and often went birding on the Oregon coast, especially Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, OR, one of the best Tufted Puffin sites on the coast. Thus, that was the first place we visited working our way down the Oregon Coast. The Puffins are best seen in the morning and unfortunately the rock was fogged in the morning we were there. However, we had already seen lots of Tufted Puffins, Common Murres and Rhinoceros Auklets on our Protection Island Pelagic Trip.
On this page there are two types of puffin photographs – those in the field, i.e. waters off Protection Island and those taken at the aviary in the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Two of the field photos, 7958 and 7962, show a puffin with multiple fish in its mouth. Serration of the bill allows it to do this and carry multiple fish back to the nest.
Photo 8987 shows a Tufted Puffin swimming underwater.
Movies of the Tufted Puffins are available on the Bird Movies page.