Photo: Jessica Pamp | Unsplash
Despite the menacing effects of climate change, Maine's famously and hilariously adorable Atlantic puffins are soaring the highs. In a remarkable comeback, these chuckling seabirds have managed two consecutive spectacular years of fledging chicks after a disastrous 2021. The secret to this turnaround is a little fish -- the sand lance -- that proved abundant enough for the puffins to feed their young, even as their usual diet dwindled due to warming waters. Don Lyons, director of conservation science at National Audubon Society's Seabird Institute, celebrates this triumph of resilience, reminding us, "We can't boil it down to one variable...We still have a lot to learn." On a journey from a few dozen pairs, Maine's puffin colonies now boast around 3,000 birds, a testament to their resilience and our tireless efforts to preserve them.
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