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Project Puffin: The Improbable Quest to Bring a Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock
The inspiring story of a young ornithologist who reintroduced puffins where none had been seen for a century
Project Puffin is the inspiring story of how a beloved seabird was restored to long-abandoned nesting colonies off the Maine coast. As a young ornithology instructor at the Hog Island Audubon Camp, Dr. Stephen W. Kress learned that puffins had nested on nearby islands until extirpated by hunters in the late 1800s. To right this environmental wrong, he resolved to bring puffins back to one such island—Eastern Egg Rock. Yet bringing the plan to reality meant convincing skeptics, finding resources, and inventing restoration methods at a time when many believed in “letting nature take its course.”
Today, Project Puffin has restored more than 1,000 puffin pairs to three Maine islands. But even more exciting, techniques developed during the project have helped to restore rare and endangered seabirds worldwide. Further, reestablished puffins now serve as a window into the effects of global warming. The success of Dr. Kress’s project offers hope that people can restore lost wildlife populations and the habitats that support them. The need for such inspiration has never been greater.
Project Puffin is the inspiring story of how a beloved seabird was restored to long-abandoned nesting colonies off the Maine coast. As a young ornithology instructor at the Hog Island Audubon Camp, Dr. Stephen W. Kress learned that puffins had nested on nearby islands until extirpated by hunters in the late 1800s. To right this environmental wrong, he resolved to bring puffins back to one such island—Eastern Egg Rock. Yet bringing the plan to reality meant convincing skeptics, finding resources, and inventing restoration methods at a time when many believed in “letting nature take its course.”
Today, Project Puffin has restored more than 1,000 puffin pairs to three Maine islands. But even more exciting, techniques developed during the project have helped to restore rare and endangered seabirds worldwide. Further, reestablished puffins now serve as a window into the effects of global warming. The success of Dr. Kress’s project offers hope that people can restore lost wildlife populations and the habitats that support them. The need for such inspiration has never been greater.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1997
21 people are currently reading
494 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
November 25, 2019
I have been a puffin lover since the day I first set foot on Skellig Michael - one of two breathtakingly beautiful (and very rocky) islands off the west coast of Ireland's Iveragh Peninsula - and saw these little "clowns of the ocean," with their chubby black and white bodies, and colorful beaks, up close and personal. I know we're not supposed to anthropomorphize the birds and beasts, but they're just so darn cute! So when I discovered that Tilbury House, one of my current publisher obsessions, had released a book about the return of puffins to the Maine island of Eastern Egg Rock, I thought I'd better find a copy.
Project Puffin, which is told in the first person, chronicles Stephen Kress's efforts to reintroduce puffins to the Maine coast, where they once flourished, before being killed off by Euro-American settlers. Beginning in 1973, with the help of the Canadian Wildlife Service, Kress began transferring puffin chicks from the thriving Great Island colony, eventually establishing populations on Egg Rock, as well as nearby Seal Island. Using the same methods, Kress and his team also reestablished a tern colony. Profusely illustrated with color photographs, and including a brief glossary at the rear, this is an engaging and informative book, and will be of particular interest to young bird watchers and ecologists.
Project Puffin, which is told in the first person, chronicles Stephen Kress's efforts to reintroduce puffins to the Maine coast, where they once flourished, before being killed off by Euro-American settlers. Beginning in 1973, with the help of the Canadian Wildlife Service, Kress began transferring puffin chicks from the thriving Great Island colony, eventually establishing populations on Egg Rock, as well as nearby Seal Island. Using the same methods, Kress and his team also reestablished a tern colony. Profusely illustrated with color photographs, and including a brief glossary at the rear, this is an engaging and informative book, and will be of particular interest to young bird watchers and ecologists.
September 3, 2017
As many people probably already know, I love to observe animals in the wild. I didn't always have this interest until I took a boat ride to the Isles of Scilly in the 1970's. There I saw puffins nesting and the love affair began.
Project Puffin was started by the author Stephen Kress. His goal was to restore the puffin population to Maine. It took many years and lots of work to get the puffins to return to Eastern Egg Rock. But his work is not over because it requires human stewardship to maintain the puffins and terns and other birds on the island.
Mr. Kress' home base is Hog Island, which I visited earlier this year. I hobbled around with a broken ankle trying to locate all the different animals and plants on the island, while looking at all flying birds to see if I could find my favorite ospreys. Mr. Kress made a few visits to the island and was kind enough to sign my copy of his book.
Now to get to the review. In the beginning, I found the startup of the project interesting, including the logistics of getting the puffins from Canada. However, after a while I found all years of the project began to blend together and the story became monotonous. However, the last half of the book was fascinating, especially the chapter about how Project Puffin has gone global. Mr. Kress' techniques of attracting birds is being used in many places, including China, Japan and the Galapagos Islands.
Mr. Kress had a lot of repetition in the last few chapters. I don't know if he didn't know how to finish the book or is so concerned about the future of the puffins that he repeated his fears over and over again.
If you enjoy birds, nature, visiting Maine and/or wildlife photography, then this book should be on your TBR listing.
Project Puffin was started by the author Stephen Kress. His goal was to restore the puffin population to Maine. It took many years and lots of work to get the puffins to return to Eastern Egg Rock. But his work is not over because it requires human stewardship to maintain the puffins and terns and other birds on the island.
Mr. Kress' home base is Hog Island, which I visited earlier this year. I hobbled around with a broken ankle trying to locate all the different animals and plants on the island, while looking at all flying birds to see if I could find my favorite ospreys. Mr. Kress made a few visits to the island and was kind enough to sign my copy of his book.
Now to get to the review. In the beginning, I found the startup of the project interesting, including the logistics of getting the puffins from Canada. However, after a while I found all years of the project began to blend together and the story became monotonous. However, the last half of the book was fascinating, especially the chapter about how Project Puffin has gone global. Mr. Kress' techniques of attracting birds is being used in many places, including China, Japan and the Galapagos Islands.
Mr. Kress had a lot of repetition in the last few chapters. I don't know if he didn't know how to finish the book or is so concerned about the future of the puffins that he repeated his fears over and over again.
If you enjoy birds, nature, visiting Maine and/or wildlife photography, then this book should be on your TBR listing.
July 13, 2019
Four plus stars for the story of what can happen when we get things right. It provides a reminder of the importance of viewing ourselves first as stewards, not consumers. Too often we are driven to use this amazing gift we have been given as if it was placed here solely for our use and abuse.
The book demonstrates the impact of our need to constantly consume without a thought of the overall impact of our behavior. Whether the consumption is for food, feathers, fashion etc...there are repercussions for the choices we make. Use of DDT is just one example of the profound impact of the use pesticides on both eagles and peregrine falcons. It also documents the near extinction of several species of seabirds due to the millenary industry.
The Puffin Project though it centers around the restoration of the Puffin colonies off the coast of Maine, it is also about restoring terns, guillemots, shearwaters and other shorebirds to a more healthy balance.
We were fortunate to see Puffins for ourselves (and we were hooked!).
The book helped me appreciate why others were excited by the sighting of the nocturnal Shearwaters on boat ride the way out to Eastern Egg Rock.
The book is both a warning and a message of hope for these beautiful and endearing seabirds.
The book demonstrates the impact of our need to constantly consume without a thought of the overall impact of our behavior. Whether the consumption is for food, feathers, fashion etc...there are repercussions for the choices we make. Use of DDT is just one example of the profound impact of the use pesticides on both eagles and peregrine falcons. It also documents the near extinction of several species of seabirds due to the millenary industry.
The Puffin Project though it centers around the restoration of the Puffin colonies off the coast of Maine, it is also about restoring terns, guillemots, shearwaters and other shorebirds to a more healthy balance.
We were fortunate to see Puffins for ourselves (and we were hooked!).
The book helped me appreciate why others were excited by the sighting of the nocturnal Shearwaters on boat ride the way out to Eastern Egg Rock.
The book is both a warning and a message of hope for these beautiful and endearing seabirds.
August 20, 2023
A highlight of our recent trip was when we went out to Egg Rock and were able to see the puffins, terns, and the ocean in general. This was a fun book that provided an overview of how Audobon biologists brought puffins back to the island after a 100-year absence.
February 16, 2016
This is a fascinating and well-written story documenting a puffin restoration project that spans decades. It left me with such an appreciation for the pain-staking (and sometimes treacherous) work that went into the author's dream to conserve this beautiful seabird.
I enjoyed the journey as told by the authors and learned quite a lot about the nuances and complexities of wildlife conservation, especially in the context of a natural world more and more impacted by the human species. I did find that the book lagged a little towards the end for me. It was hard to stay engaged with the last few chapters. Stick with it though - Kress makes some great points about the importance of raising children who are solidly connected to nature to ensure the ongoing and important work of wildlife conservation.
I enjoyed the journey as told by the authors and learned quite a lot about the nuances and complexities of wildlife conservation, especially in the context of a natural world more and more impacted by the human species. I did find that the book lagged a little towards the end for me. It was hard to stay engaged with the last few chapters. Stick with it though - Kress makes some great points about the importance of raising children who are solidly connected to nature to ensure the ongoing and important work of wildlife conservation.
July 2, 2016
I will confess I am a bit of a bird geek. I will also confess that I took an online class from Cornell that Dr. Kress taught this spring. I will also confess that I recently met Dr. Kress on one of the Puffin tours out of New Harbor, Maine and he signed this book for me. Having said all that I still think that this is an excellent read if you are at all interested in birds or environmentalism and love a good story about people doing good in the world (and the inherent gray area challenges that come along with doing good). The latter part of the book looks at other efforts around the world and gives a good context for where we are today and what the future may hold as well. Well worth reading.
January 22, 2023
I had no idea this was even a thing. I am so glad I read this book to learn about all the work that gets done to actually help save a species. This book goes through the ins & outs from start to finish (are they really done though?) on this puffin project. I was taken back by the roadblocks of resources, funding, skepticism, & lack of assistance they got. The good thing is the moved forward through the hurdles they encountered year after year. The amount of years that it took for them to even get this off the ground was astounding. Yet, to keep going after the weather issues, predators, etc. was substantial. They were able to get interns (+ other people) & necessary resources—after some serious convincing to keep this going, which made a world of difference to those puffins. It's simply a great story that really makes you wonder to what ends of the earth people are willing to go in order to make a difference. It's wonderful to read about the efforts made for this & glad it came into fruition as a book for others to learn more about too.
December 2, 2022
This is a fine report on the restoration of puffins to Eastern Egg Rock in Maine, with lots of stories and biographical detail about Kress and others interwoven with life history information about the puffins. But it's also a general call to a wider awareness of the natural world and our relationship to it. Kress emphasizes the futility of many "hands off" approaches to protecting threatened and endangered species, which would not work on Eastern Egg Rock and do not appear to be working for some other species. A few small errors made it past the editors and into the text, and the final sentence strikes me as odd, but these glitches do little to distract from the book's readability and the significance of the issues it presents.
May 28, 2020
Most of the book is an uplifting, almost glorious adventure story of the successful restoration of a Puffin and seabird colony in Maine -- a cheerful saga in contrast to the usual tales of woe common in environmental books. However, Kress ends with an impassioned defense of ongoing active human protection of vulnerable species, which face multiple challenges as a result of human activities.
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September 17, 2024Not what I was looking for. I wanted to learn about puffins, but the focus here was on the people who had power to affect the puffins. The title was, of course, a perfect indicator of this, but there are so few books on puffins that I gave it a try. The read was too slow for me to want to devote my time to it.
June 16, 2019
The history of how Project Puffin developed makes me appreciate the importance of keeping Puffins alive. I hope to do one of the boat tours around Seal Island and other islands off the coast of Maine because of reading this book.
August 16, 2020
Though there were parts with odd,out of place sentences and ideas, I do love the book. It’s so nice to hear someone admit mistakes and give credit where it’s due! What an amazing story of persistence and teamwork that grew to impact so much more than the puffins he loved.
March 1, 2023
One man's effort to return puffins to a former habitat off the coast of Maine. Good story of ingenuity, blind faith and impressive patience. The last two chapters needed a better edit because the same things were said multiple times. But overall a good book.
May 30, 2018
NF-Science
326 pages
What a story. Kress has spent his life's work
bringing the Puffins back to a rocky Maine island.
Daunting. Refreshing. Going to Maine to see them.
326 pages
What a story. Kress has spent his life's work
bringing the Puffins back to a rocky Maine island.
Daunting. Refreshing. Going to Maine to see them.
July 9, 2018
Shouldn't be surprised the guy had a bit of a savior complex. He kind of earned it.
October 1, 2021
Fascinating! I so enjoyed learning about how the puffins were brought back to Maine, and this really enriched my puffin tour experience.
September 8, 2022
This was an exciting read, from project conception to ongoing maintenance.
January 18, 2023
Probably biased since I was living the book. Truly an inspiring story of how human beings can restore the damages they have dealt to sensitive ecosystems.
June 24, 2023
Amazing story, so interesting.
August 1, 2023
A quick introduction to Project Puffin with enough detail and images to engage the intended child audience. Useful as a brief survey of the project, it’s history, and current direction.
November 13, 2015
Project Puffin is a lively story about very human individuals working to reintroduce Atlantic puffins to a small island off the coast of Maine. It details the physical challenges and the emotional roller coaster that such restoration work entails. It starts with some incidents that were formative in the life of young Stephen Kress, who later conceived the idea of the puffin reintroduction and has spent much of his life carrying it through. It would seem that Kress, who is now an internationally recognized expert on seabird reintroduction, never really got so he could manage boats in the ocean well. At one point, Kress's boat turned over while carrying several people including 81 year old Roger Tory Peterson. This was shortly after Peterson's wife had warned Kress that the elderly ornithologist was a national treasure and to take care of him! Peterson survived, although he was hospitalized for several days after the experience.
The last few chapters tell us three things: How some of the techniques Kress and his staff developed during Project Puffin have been applied to other seabird restoration projects around the globe; Kress's thoughts in 2014 about the dependence of many bird species on man to survive in a world humans have so changed; and his belief that children allowed to spend lots of free time in somewhat natural settings will become our only hope for the ongoing survival of many creatures that are part of of our natural world today.
I gave 5 stars to Project Puffin, but early in the book a section seemed less well edited than the rest. It was as if the writer forgot he had told me a story earlier. Instead of simply referring to the incident, he retold it in detail. Despite this, I consider this a 5 star book with a small weakness rather than a 4 star book with great strengths. Those with an interest in birds specifically or conservation generally will especially appreciate Project Puffin, but readers with broad interests are also likely to find it enjoyable.
The last few chapters tell us three things: How some of the techniques Kress and his staff developed during Project Puffin have been applied to other seabird restoration projects around the globe; Kress's thoughts in 2014 about the dependence of many bird species on man to survive in a world humans have so changed; and his belief that children allowed to spend lots of free time in somewhat natural settings will become our only hope for the ongoing survival of many creatures that are part of of our natural world today.
I gave 5 stars to Project Puffin, but early in the book a section seemed less well edited than the rest. It was as if the writer forgot he had told me a story earlier. Instead of simply referring to the incident, he retold it in detail. Despite this, I consider this a 5 star book with a small weakness rather than a 4 star book with great strengths. Those with an interest in birds specifically or conservation generally will especially appreciate Project Puffin, but readers with broad interests are also likely to find it enjoyable.
September 18, 2016
I've been wanting to go see the Puffins off the coast of Maine and now I will be sure to next summer now that I know all it took to get them reestablished on Eastern Egg Rock Island. This was a book I had in Maine this summer and didn't get it read until now. It's not just about reestablishing the Puffin that was exterminated for it's feathers and meat in the 1880's, it's about the complex web of all life and how it's interelated on every level. I enjoyed all the everyday mechanics of the project, the increible number of people involved over the 40 plus years, and genuine elation of success. But very sober in that how a continued presence is required today to keep the project a success and all that that involves. Finally the last chapter that warns once again of how children need to get in the outdoors and observe and enjoy nature so that they will understand and will want to understand and participate in projects like Project Puffin.
February 23, 2016
It's an interesting story, perhaps a little more detailed than I anticipated, but what was most enlightening to me are the thoughts about what it takes to save an endangered species. The author knew well the effort it would take to reintroduce this bird to its earlier environment, but what he didn't realize at first is the effort that would be needed to sustain it. Because of changes in the environment, most caused by humans, the food chain has been disrupted and predators have been encouraged. The stories of the students who helped to reintroduce the puffin are inspiring. Are there enough people today who care about animals and birds to help save them? Will our children take an interest in our biosphere, or will they see it only virtually and let nature take its course?
November 15, 2015
I've really been enjoying these non-fiction books about evolution and how humans are changing the world around us. It's always nice to read about scientist that are trying to actively help a species instead of merely watching and observing. This is a fairly short read. It's not exactly an easy read. There is lots of rather dull information, but it's broken up by very interesting stories from Egg Rock.
January 14, 2016
A tale of persistence and hope (and somewhat hopeless seamanship :), but also the complications of modern conservation - how much man should intervene and what that intervention looks like. For good reasons IMO, the author comes down on intervention, but maybe gives short shrift to the other side of the argument.
July 15, 2010
I bought this book from Pete Salmansohn after hearing him speak on a Puffin Watch up in Maine. I went into reading it knowing most of the information already, because of this, but it was still enjoyable.
April 2, 2012
A quick read, but a wonderful glimpse into the project that is working to restore the puffin population in Maine. Great partner read with Neversink!
May 15, 2016
I was on the boat trip to Eastern Egg Island while on vacation. The story is quite interesting. The book is written very conversational; students will enjoy both the text and the pictures.
January 27, 2016
Perfectly charming book about puffin restoration in Maine. Not related but important to my experience of the book: the dust cover had a strange texture that gave me the willies.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews