BREMEN — The Seabird Institute announces the first annual Puffin Palooza! This family friendly event will occur on Saturday, July 9 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Todd Wildlife Sanctuary in Bremen. Featuring Seabird Scavenger Hunt throughout the mainland facility, Puffin Palooza! encourages attendees to explore the sanctuary in search of decorated seabird decoys, just like those found on Maine’s seabird islands! Tickets go on sale on May 30 at projectpuffin.audubon.com, admission for kids 11 and under is free. Parking is extremely limited, and shuttles will be available from the Central Lincoln County YMCA and Coastal Rivers Land Trust, Round Top Farm.
Combining creativity, community and conservation, Puffin Palooza! shares the miraculous story of Project Puffin and how work on Maine’s coastal islands impacts seabirds worldwide. Come see how seabird decoys are manufactured, enjoy a bird walk led by an Audubon expert, learn about native plants, or bid on one of our seabird silent auction items. J+J Grocery will be on site with food, games and crafts will be facilitated by Coastal Rivers Land Trust, and music by Katie Daggett and Ed DesJardins round out this family friendly day of seabird fun. Visit our website for the full schedule of events.
Atlantic Puffins once flourished on many nesting islands along Maine’s coast but were eliminated from all but one of their nesting islands in Maine by the late 1800s. Nearly 100 years later, a young scientist named Stephen Kress began an effort, known as Project Puffin, to restore puffins to Eastern Egg Rock. Puffins are colonial seabirds, meaning they are very social creatures. To lure puffins to the island, puffin decoys and mirrors were placed around the island and bird calls were played. This method, called social attraction is responsible for the restoration of Atlantic Puffins in Maine and many other seabird species around the world.
Project Puffin, now known as the Seabird Institute, has been responsible for the successful restoration of Atlantic Puffins and other seabirds in the Gulf of Maine since 1973. In 2020, the Seabird Institute permanently relocated its operational headquarters to Bremen, Maine to engage the local community with this critical conservation work.
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more how to help at www.audubon.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @audubonsociety.
