Atlantic puffin “puffling” in hand awaiting banding (photo by Bob Shand via Flickr Creative Commons license)

15 August 2025

August is the time of year when baby puffins fledge. At night they follow the light of the moon on their first flight to the ocean. However if the moon is dark (a New Moon) or obscured by fog, the “pufflings” fly to the nearest light and end up stranded in towns, at houses or on roads. They will die if they aren’t returned to the sea. Fortunately, volunteers are happy to help, especially in Iceland and Newfoundland.

Witless Bay, Newfoundland is home to North America’s largest Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) colony containing 260,000 breeding pairs. Every spring the adults arrive to lay one egg and raise a chick in burrows on the hills and cliffs.

Atlantic puffins at Newfoundland breeding grounds (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

When the egg hatches the parents are kept busy bringing food to the burrow.

Puffin bringing food to its nest burrow (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Eventually the chick emerges though it cannot fly yet.

Young puffling outside its burrow, too young to fly (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

When it does make its first flight — always at night — it may get into serious trouble, especially if it lands on the road. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) runs an annual Puffin Patrol that enlists volunteers to rescue chicks at night and release them during the day. This year’s Puffin Patrol is August 1-31, 2025.

screenshot of CPAWS Puffin Patrol FAQ

Meanwhile road signs at Witless Bay warn motorists that baby puffins might be on the road. Watch out!

Sign warning drivers near Witless Bay, NL to watch out for (and not run over) baby puffins on the road (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

This 10-year-old video shows puffin rescue at Witless Bay in less than 2 minutes.

If you have more time, watch 7 minutes by Peter Barfoot, filmed in 2017.

And here’s the goal: A puffling on the ocean.

Puffling on the ocean (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Read about the Witless Bay rescue program at CPAWS Puffin and Petrel Patrol.

Here’s a 10 minute mini-documentary that tells the history of puffin rescue at Witless Bay.