island at one time, so booking far ahead is suggested. Regulations are enforced by a Canadian wildlife warden. Landings on the island are often not possible due to weather conditions in the Bay of Fundy, and getting ashore can be difficult any time.

Tours to Eastern Egg Rock leave from Boothbay, New Harbor, and Port Clyde. Some cruises have Audubon specialists on board to give you a more enriching experience. The best times to watch puffins are June and July when they are hatching eggs and feeding chicks. Other islands do not have regular puffin tours.

If you don’t want to risk seasickness or a canceled tour due to weather conditions, a visit to Audubon’s Project Puffin Visitor Center might be in order. Located at 311 Main Steet in Rockland, Project Puffin has interactive exhibits, videos, lectures, all kinds of information about puffins, and a gift shop.

HELPFUL SITES

• projectpuffin.audubon.org/

• mainebirdingtrail.com

• explore.org/videos/player discover-the- puffins-of-seal-island-maine

Once native to Maine, Atlantic puffins were nearly wiped out by early settlers who over-hunted them for food and feathers. In 1973, the effort to restore puffins began on Eastern Egg Rock. Chicks were transplanted from Newfoundland to man-made burrows on the island and were banded so they could be recognized if they returned to raise chicks of their own. Finally, in 1981 Project Puffin saw its first chick hatched on the island in a century.

From 1984 to 1989, a similar transplant project took place on Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, and in 1992, the puffins recolonized Seal Island.

Now, Maine is the only state with puffin nesting grounds, with five island populations of puffins: Eastern Egg Rock, Seal Island, Matinicus Rock, Machias Seal Island, and Petit Manan.