Seal
Island National Wildlife Refuge
The seabird cameras
on Seal
Island National Wildlife Refuge are now showing real time
views of puffins, terns, guillemots, razorbills, murres, eiders
and other Maine coast seabirds. Puffins begin laying eggs in
early May and these begin hatching in mid-June. After an incubation
period of about six weeks, the tiny 'puffling' will hatch and
parents will then spend the next six weeks carrying food back
to the nest and tending the chick.
The Puffin Cam sits
on a popular puffin roosting ledge where puffins spend time socializing
among wooden decoys. From this location, the camera pivots nearly
360 degrees to show puffin nesting habitat under huge granite
boulders.
The Puffin Cam is operated
by staff and visitors at the Project
Puffin Visitor Center.
The camera also features the sounds of Seal Island.
Seal Island is part
of the Maine
Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge. It is located 20
miles south of Rockland, ME. The camera is scheduled to be in
place each year from late May through mid-October, but the best
seasons to watch is June through mid-August when most seabirds
are nesting. After mid-August, most seabirds will have headed
back to their winter homes on the open ocean.
Residents and visitors
to the Maine coast can see the live video on a large screen and
operate the cameras at the Project
Puffin Visitor Center, located at 311 Main Street in Rockland,
Maine. located at 311 Main Street in Rockland, ME. The center
is open daily from 10AM to 5PM from June 1st until October 31st.
cereals
