Keenan Yakola, Project Puffin’s Supervisor on Seal Island is back with a uplifting update from the seabird burrows.
“It’s our busiest time of year out here on Seal Island. Puffin, Tern and Guillemot chicks have now all hatched and are growing up.
Puffin with sandlance
The Seal Island Research crew has been conducting feeding studies on both puffins and terns. During these three-hour blind stints, our interns observe a set number of nests to determine both how many feedings chicks are getting and of what species. So far this year the forage has been fantastic. Both terns and puffins adults have been bringing in Hake, Sandlance and Herring, the ideal food items in the Gulf of Maine for these hungry seabird chicks.
In addition to keeping an eye on chick diet we have also been furiously measuring, weighing and banding chicks. This will give us a sense of how chicks are growing and how the Seal Island colony is doing in terms of productivity over the field season. We will continue to monitor both the growth and diet of our seabird chicks up until they fledge.
One way the you can help us with our research is to keep an eye out for feedings on the Burrow Cam. Taking a snap shot of each feeding can help us identify the fish that Joy is receiving and the rate at which she is being fed. Data such as this is vital to the future and conservation of seabirds including puffins, terns and guillemots.”
