Now Through July 4: Great Cannon Beach Puffin Watch on N. Oregon Coast

Published 07/01/26 at 7:55 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – Those adorable puffins have been back for awhile at their favorite north Oregon coast haunt atop Cannon Beach's Haystack Rock, and from now through July 4 you can be a part of the Great Cannon Beach Puffin Watch

Friends of Haystack Rock will host the Great Cannon Beach Puffin Watch from July 1 through July 4, offering morning viewing opportunities from 8 to 11 a.m. in front of Haystack Rock. The event is part of Cannon Beach’s fireworks-free holiday celebration and gives visitors a chance to observe tufted puffins and other seabirds that nest on the iconic landmark.

Spotting scopes and binoculars will be available, and bird experts will be on hand to help visitors locate these cute little puffins, as well as learn about the diverse seabird colonies that inhabit the Marine Garden and Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Friends of Haystack Rock works with the Haystack Rock Awareness Program and other partners to protect the intertidal ecosystem and the birds that rely on it.

Haystack Rock is one of Oregon’s key breeding sites for tufted puffins. The birds return in early April, often to the same burrows they used the previous year. Puffins spend roughly 16 weeks at the rock, cleaning their burrows, laying a single egg, and raising their young. Chicks typically hatch from late June through August, and although they remain hidden inside burrows, activity around the rock increases as adults make repeated trips carrying fish. After 38 to 59 days, the young puffins depart under cover of darkness to avoid predators such as bald eagles and head out to the open ocean for winter.

Their population is at a dismal level, however. They're in trouble, as a species.

Tufted puffins face significant threats, including ingesting ocean plastic, drowning in gill-nets, and losing burrow habitat to introduced predators like foxes and rats. Their numbers have dropped sharply; populations in Oregon and Washington have declined more than 95 percent since the mid-1990s. In Oregon, an estimated 5,000 puffins were recorded in 1998. By 2021, that number had fallen to just 553.

Visitors to Haystack Rock may also see common murres, pigeon guillemots, cormorants, and black oystercatchers during the event. Organizers say the best viewing times for puffins are between 7 and 10 a.m. They encourage people to bring binoculars or visit when the Haystack Rock Awareness Program has its scopes available. Puffins can often be spotted on the grassy upper half of the rock, especially toward the north side, or flying overhead with their distinctive black bodies, white faces, and bright orange beaks and feet.

Photo Larry Hauser

Multiple organizations are working together to restore tufted puffin populations in Oregon, including Friends of Haystack Rock, American Bird Conservancy, Bird Alliance of Oregon, the Haystack Rock Awareness Program, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State University, National Audubon Society, Shoreline Education for Awareness, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Organizers say seeing a tufted puffin remains a magical experience and hope the event helps raise awareness about the species’ steep decline. They encourage the public to spread the word and take advantage of the opportunity to view the birds while they are still present at Haystack Rock.

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