We have a few areas in the Salish Sea where we can typically see Puffins. The Tufted Puffins of the Salish Sea are endangered here in Washington State but I have seen hundreds of these beautiful birds on my trips in Alaska.
This bird is easily identified by the reddish-orange bill and white to yellow tufts on its head with a white face and black body. They are a little over a foot long and they spend most of the year at sea. In the summer they can be found near rocky bluffs or cliffs. During the spring this is where they nest and raise their young. When the young can fly, they begin heading back to sea for the rest of the year.
This is a fish eating, diving bird. I have always loved these birds from when I was a teenager and first saw them in Alaska. These Tufted Puffins of the Salish Sea are truly a special bird.
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