By Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine — Researchers say they’ve found an answer to the longstanding question of where Maine’s Atlantic puffins spend the winter: far off New Jersey and New York.
Puffins are the colorful seabirds of the auk family that are graceful in the water and awkward on land and air. The birds spend the spring breeding season and summer in coastal areas before heading out to open ocean waters in the autumn and winter.
Audubon says the exact winter locations of puffins have long been a mystery to scientists. The organization says locators recovered from puffins show birds spent much of the winter several states away from Maine.
Stephen Kress is director of the Audubon Seabird Restoration Program. He says the data shows puffins winter over underwater canyons and sea mountains in the Atlantic.