a puffin success story. Y54 is the oldest puffin on Eastern Egg Rock—one of the original transplants from Newfoundland more than 34 years ago. She is also possibly the oldest puffin in North America. The Eastern Egg Rock puffins first started breeding on July 4, 1981, after 8 years of work to establish the colony. As of 2019 there were 188 breeding pairs, many of them—possibly even the one I painted—direct descendants of y54.
I photographed the puffin above last month aboard a Hardy Boat puffin tour, out of New Harbor, Maine. It was a short trip, but an exciting one with lots of Atlantic puffins, some in small groups, paddling around the boat. Getting a bird in focus in the swells proved to be quite a challenge, but I got enough good reference to start the series. Puffin in the swells is an 8" x 10" acrylic painted on a wood panel.
