I recently had a chance to spend 4 days on Eastern Egg Rock Island off the coast of Maine. Thanks to efforts of the Audubon Society the island is again home to the Atlantic Puffin, three species of terns and lots of very noisy Laughing Gulls.
In the late 1800's hunters killed virtually all the puffins in Maine. From the mid-to-late 1800's ladies' fashions demanded the use of feathers, and birds like Arctic, Common and Roseate Terns were hunted until they were also virtually extinct in Maine.
Reintroduction efforts begain in the early 1970's to restore puffins and other bird species to their historic nesting range on several Maine Islands. The program has met with remarkable succcess.
The island is closed to the general public during nesting season, so I had to work my way on, spending 3 hour shifts in a tiny blind, while sitting on a 5-gallon pickle bucket. Much cooler than Texas, however.
More photos at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/blog
