Puffins are seabirds that breed along the rocky coasts and islands of the North Atlantic Ocean. Their distinctive large, colorful beaks and cute, round bodies make them a favorite for many bird enthusiasts and wildlife photographers. The best time to view puffins in Nova Scotia depends on what part of their yearly cycle you want to observe. The puffins arrive in Nova Scotia in April and stay until August to breed and raise their young before migrating south for the winter. Late spring to mid summer offers the best chance to see puffins flying, swimming, and nesting along the shore.
Puffin Breeding Season in Nova Scotia
Puffins return to their breeding grounds along the Atlantic Canadian coast each spring. In Nova Scotia, the puffins start arriving in early April. Through April and into May, the puffins gather in rafts offshore and gradually come to land to repair and occupy their burrows. The peak of the breeding season is from late May to early August. This period offers the most abundant opportunity to see puffins near their nesting colonies on offshore islands and headlands. Some key locations in Nova Scotia to see nesting puffins are Machias Seal Island, Bon Portage Island, and Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve.
April
In April, the first puffins start arriving back from their wintering areas out at sea. Early arrivals in April are usually adult birds returning to re-establish breeding pairs and repair burrows. Peak arrival is late April into early May. The best locations to spot puffins rafting offshore in April are around Cape Breton Island, Bon Portage Island, and Seal Island. Landing opportunities may be limited as the birds are just arriving and sensitive to disturbance.
May
During May in Nova Scotia, puffin activity continues to increase leading up to the breeding season. More puffins can be seen closer to shore and landing on islands by mid to late May. Watch for puffins gathering nest material, socializing near burrows, and establishing breeding pairs. Prime viewing locations in May are Machias Seal Island, Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, and Ironbound Island. Boat tours to view puffins depart from Newfoundland at this time of year.
June – July
The peak breeding season for puffins in Nova Scotia spans June and July. This is the optimal time to see puffins on land, air, and water as they incubate eggs, guard burrows, and forage for fish. Both parents take turns incubating the single egg for around 40 days before the chick hatches. Watch for puffins shuttling back and forth from their nesting burrows carrying small fish. Excellent viewing spots include Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, Bon Portage Island, and Machias Seal Island. Time a boat tour to Machias Seal Island in early summer to get up close to puffins.
August
In August, puffin chick rearing continues but starts to wind down toward the end of the month. The puffin colonies become less active as adults and juveniles being to depart for their wintering zones out at sea. The first two weeks of August are a good window to still see puffins around their nesting islands before they migrate. Locations such as Cape St. Mary’s and Bon Portage Island can have good puffin watching in early August. Mid to late August, sightings decrease as birds disperse from the colonies.
Best Locations to See Puffins in Nova Scotia
Here are some of the top spots in Nova Scotia to view Atlantic puffins during nesting season:
Machias Seal Island
This small island located between Nova Scotia and Maine is home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the Bay of Fundy, with around 5,000 breeding pairs. The best time to visit is May to August when puffins are actively nesting in burrows. Boat tours from New Brunswick provide an excellent opportunity to get close views of puffins on land and sea.
Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve
Found on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, Cape St. Mary’s has one of the most accessible puffin colonies in Atlantic Canada. A network of footpaths leads to cliffside viewing platforms overlooking tens of thousands of nesting seabirds, including puffins. Prime viewing for puffins is late May to mid August.
Bon Portage Island
This remote island near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy contains over 20,000 breeding pairs of puffins. A site managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service, Bon Portage Island is strictly for research and viewing is only allowed through organized tours in summer. Tours provide excellent opportunities to photograph puffins on land at close range.
Ironbound Island
Ironbound Island off the coast of Cape Breton hosts a small but active puffin colony of around 200 pairs. Boat tours operating out of New Haven and Neil’s Harbour provide access to view puffins on Ironbound in July and August. Nearby Money Point also has puffin watching opportunities.
Seal Island
Located off the southern tip of Nova Scotia, Seal Island has over 2,000 puffin breeding pairs. Multiple tour companies offer boat trips to view seabirds including puffins nesting on the rocky island from late May to late August. Peak activity is late June into July.
Best Time to See Puffins Fly and Swim
To witness puffins in flight and foraging at sea, the best opportunities are:
April – May
As the puffins arrive at their breeding islands in April and May, watching from headlands or on boat tours can reveal puffins flying over the water in groups or rafting up. Their distinctive fluttering flight and bright orange feet are good identification marks. Places to spot flying puffins include Cape Breton cliffs, Bon Portage Island, and around Seal Island.
July – Mid August
Once incubating and feeding chicks in early summer, adult puffins make frequent fishing trips from their nesting islands out to sea. The best chance to observe puffins flying and diving for fish is from offshore tours near Machias Seal Island, Cape St. Mary’s, and Ironbound Island during July and early August.
Dawn and Dusk
Puffins tend to be most active flying to and from their burrows at dawn and dusk. Mornings and evenings typically provide the highest frequency of puffins in flight around nesting colonies. Stationing yourself on a headland overlooking a puffin island at sunrise and sunset should yield good flight views.
Conclusion
To summarize, the Atlantic puffin breeding season in Nova Scotia runs from April through August, with the peak activity for viewing puffins on land occurring from late May to early August. Key nesting sites include Machias Seal Island, Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, Bon Portage Island, Ironbound Island, and Seal Island off southwestern Nova Scotia. Boat tours to offshore islands provide excellent closeup sightings during summer. For puffins in flight, coastal headlands in late spring and offshore boat tours in July offer the best opportunity. Timing your visit in early summer and locating established puffin colonies maximizes your chance to admire these iconic seabirds. With their colorful beaks and energetic wingbeats, observing Atlantic puffins along the Nova Scotia coast is a memorable highlight.
When do puffins migrate away from Nova Scotia?
The Atlantic puffins that breed along the Nova Scotia coast begin migrating away from their summer nesting sites starting in mid-August. By late September, most puffins have left Nova Scotia and migrated offshore or further south for the winter.
August
In mid to late August, adult puffins and juveniles start to depart the breeding colonies and gather offshore to prepare for fall migration. August sees puffin numbers steadily decline around nesting islands as birds finish raising chicks and abandon burrows. Some fledged juveniles remain into early September. Prime outmigration period is late August into early September.
September
By September, puffin breeding sites around Nova Scotia are mostly abandoned as birds have migrated south. Very few puffins remain along the coast by late September. Only small handfuls of stragglers may persist into early October. September marks the transition to the winter non-breeding season for puffins in the region.
October
October sees the complete departure of puffins from Nova Scotia until the following spring. An occasional puffin may linger offshore through mid October. But the colonies are vacant by late fall as birds have migrated out of the area for the season. October through March, puffins are absent from Nova Scotia and found offshore and south along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.
Where do puffins go in winter?
When puffins leave Nova Scotia in late summer and fall, they migrate south and spend the non-breeding winter months scattered across a wide zone of the North Atlantic Ocean and along the North American coastline.
North Atlantic Ocean
Many puffins migrate several hundred miles southeast of Nova Scotia into open ocean areas such as the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. Here they live widely dispersed across the sea through the winter months. These offshore wintering zones provide important food sources like fish, squid, and crustaceans.
U.S. Eastern Seaboard
Some portion of the puffins that breed in Canada migrate down the Atlantic coast of the U.S. in winter. Their range extends as far south as the mid-Atlantic region off the coasts of states like New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. Occasional sightings occur even farther south.
Gulf of Maine
Puffins are also found through the winter in cold northern waters like the Gulf of Maine between Maine and Nova Scotia. While their numbers are reduced from the breeding season, puffins can be observed from coastal spots here during winter months.
Offshore Islands
Certain offshore islands and rocks along the coast from Newfoundland to Maine may have small overwintering groups of puffins that remain relatively close to the summer breeding zones. Birders occasionally spot them around these northern islands in winter.
How far do puffins migrate?
On average, most Atlantic puffins migrate several hundred miles south from their Nova Scotia breeding colonies to overwinter off the northeastern U.S. coast and in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. However some migrations cover more extensive distances.
Typical Migration Distance
The typical migration distance for Atlantic puffins that nest in Nova Scotia ranges from around 300 to 600 miles (500-1,000 km) south and east of their breeding sites. This takes many birds offshore into the Atlantic and south to the coastal waters of the northeastern U.S.
Maximum Migration Range
While adults tend to migrate shorter distances and remain in north temperate regions, younger puffins may migrate much farther south in their first few non-breeding seasons. Band resighting data show immature puffins travel as far south as Florida and the Bahamas, covering 2,000 miles or more from Nova Scotia.
Partial Migration
A portion of the adult puffin population remains relatively close to their breeding areas in winter, not migrating very far offshore or southward. These puffins may only migrate a few tens of miles from their colony sites.
Type of Migrant | Migration Distance |
---|---|
Adults | 300-600 miles |
Immatures | Up to 2,000+ miles |
Partial migrants | Tens of miles |
Return Migration to Breeding Sites
When returning north in spring to breeding colonies, adult puffins appear to exhibit strong site fidelity. Regardless of how far they migrated for the winter, most make their way back to the same Atlantic Canadian island and burrow they previously nested in once spring conditions allow for breeding.
How long do puffins live?
In the wild, the average lifespan of an Atlantic puffin is typically 15 to 20 years. The oldest known wild puffin lived to over 30 years of age. With low natural predation of adults, most Atlantic puffins die from starvation, disease, or hunting by humans rather than old age.
Average Lifespan
The average lifespan of wild Atlantic puffins is estimated to range between 15 and 20 years. Of adults that survive to breeding age, most only breed for 5-10 years before dying. The annual adult survival rate has been measured from 83 to 93%, declining with age.
Maximum Lifespan
The longest lived Atlantic puffin in the wild was recorded at over 30 years old based on banding records. This indicates an exceptional longevity for a wild seabird. The oldest recorded in captivity was just over 35 years. Most puffins do not approach this maximum lifespan.
High Mortality of Young Birds
While adult survival is relatively high, only about 30% of puffin chicks survive to fledging. Predation, starvation, and storms take a heavy toll. Of those reaching adulthood, approximately 77% of birds survive their first year and 50% survive to age 5. Lifespan increases significantly for those reaching breeding maturity.
Threats to Survival
Threats to Atlantic puffins that may cut lives short include oiling, fishing net entanglement, pollution, ingesting plastics, food shortages from climate change, hunting, and predation. Their long lives compared to other seabirds reflects adaptations that help adults endure the challenges of their open ocean environment.
Conclusion
In summary, Atlantic puffins have a typical lifespan of 15 to 20 years in the wild, with the oldest known individual surviving over 30 years. High mortality impacts young puffins, but survival increases once birds reach breeding maturity around age 5. Despite living most of their lives far offshore, threats from human activities, pollution, climate change, and predation impact puffin lifespan. Their relatively long lives given these challenges reflects adaptations that help these colorful seabirds persist despite hardship. Protecting puffin breeding habitats and food sources remains key to ensuring the maximum lifespan potential of these iconic North Atlantic birds.