Cute, Colorful Puffins Subject of Oregon Coast Talk, May 12

Published 05/09/21 at 3:05 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – Oh, those adorable and slightly comical puffins of the Oregon coast. Now that they’ve returned for the spring and summer, puffin love is in the air. So is monitoring them for scientific purposes. And who wouldn’t want to monitor puffins? (Photo courtesy Tiffany Boothe / Friends of Haystack Rock)

Yet “just how do you monitor puffins?” That’s an actual question and the title of the latest World of Haystack Rock Library Lecture Series, set to take over your digital airwaves on May 12. The virtual lectures continue, this time with bird expert Tim Halloran – starting at 7 p.m. on the Friends of Haystack Facebook page.

Tim will answer that frequent question, share his experiences on the beach and highlight the puffin behavior he has seen. Puffin research worldwide will be described, with particular focus on the Cannon Beach data. If you have wondered why so many seabirds have declined by 90% in our lifetimes, if you are concerned about the fate of our colony of the Tufted Puffin, this talk will provide much food for thought.

Halloran hails from Chicago and got his start as a birder in 1969 at Western Illinois University. He taught high school biology for 14 years and his career in administration eventually led him to the university level. After retirement, he and his wife moved to Portland in 2010 to welcome their first grandchild. 2011 was his first summer volunteering with HRAP and he started monitoring Puffins for USFW in 2012. Tim lives in Vancouver, Washington and maintains an apartment in Cannon Beach.

Friends of Haystack Rock is a nonprofit organization focused on keeping Haystack Rock healthy and thriving. Our mission is to promote the preservation and protection of the intertidal life and birds that inhabit the Marine Garden and Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge at Haystack Rock. We do this in cooperation with Haystack Rock Awareness Program (HRAP) and other partnerships.

Friends of Haystack Rock has actually extended it lecture series this year. The north Oregon coast group has declared 2021 “The Year of the Puffin” to raise awareness about the rapid decline in the tufted puffin population in the lower 48, the extended lecture series will focus on tufted puffins.

The rest of the series:

June 9th, Amy Eberling & Amanda Colbert with the Salish Sea School will be presenting, “The State of the Endangered Tufted Puffins in Washington”

July 14th, Shawn Stephenson, with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, will be presenting “Tufted Puffin Research Studies of the Oregon Coast”

August 11th, Speaker still to be determined.

September 8th, Rachael Orben & Noah Dolinajec, will be presenting, “A Seabird’s Seafood: Investigating the diet of Tufted Puffin Chicks at Haystack Rock through Noninvasive Community Focused Activities. MORE PHOTOS BELOW

Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours

MORE PHOTOS BELOW

Photos below Seaside Aquarium. Photos above courtesy Ram Pampish

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted