Tufted puffin flying over the Oregon Coast

Tufted puffin flying over the Oregon Coast. The Tufted Puffin – a seabird of the North Pacific Rim – has evinced steep declines off the west coast of the continental United States in recent years, but it is less clear that the species is declining in the northern portion of its range. Therefore, while the species’ range appears to be contracting, the overall trends in abundance are less clear. Lack of a coordinated monitoring plan across the range reduces the ability to make robust inference about trends and to investigate dynamics that may be driving changes in abundance and distribution (source: Washington CRU).