As part of Seabird Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration, Puffin Palooza! brings the magic of Gulf of Maine seabirds onto the mainland for Maine’s residents and visitors. Partnering with local businesses, we’re conducting a seabird scavenger hunt throughout several Maine coastal communities, which will bring awareness to the research and conservation work that occurs in the Gulf of Maine. We hope you’ll consider a small investment to bring this experience into your establishment and help us launch the next 50 years of seabird conservation.
The Puffin Palooza! scavenger hunt features seabird decoys, sponsored and decorated by local businesses like yours. From June 15 to August 15, area residents and visitors will be able to search for decorated decoys in sponsoring business locales. Maps of participating businesses will be available for download from the Seabird Institute website, or to pick up at the Project Puffin Visitor Center in Rockland, ME, and The Peace Gallery in Damariscotta, ME.
Choose to be an Event Sponsor ($1,000) or a Decoy Sponsor ($150-$250). Feel as though your business is not conducive to frequent visitors? Decoys can be placed in a window to alleviate traffic in your establishment. Alternatively, your decoy can be installed at our facility at the Todd Wildlife Sanctuary in Bremen, Maine. If you are unable to sponsor a decoy, please consider donating an item for inclusion in the Puffin Palooza raffle. Commitments are due by May 1st and payment and raffle items must be received by June 30th.
Maine’s iconic puffin is a sentinel of climate change, and coastal Maine communities have a front row seat to what these birds are telling us about the changing marine ecosystem on which we all rely. By sponsoring and decorating a seabird decoy, you can help us engage with our community, inspire a commitment to conservation, and encourage actions that benefit seabirds and the resources they need.
Want to join in the Puffin Palooza fun? Download the Sponsorship Agreement Form here.
About the Seabird Institute
For fifty years, the Seabird Institute has worked to restore populations of Maine’s rare and endangered seabirds. Our program was founded by Dr. Stephen Kress, with the sole purpose of restoring Atlantic Puffins back to Eastern Egg Rock in Muscongus Bay. “Project Puffin” quickly grew to include efforts to restore terns, razorbills, murres and other seabirds to several more nearby islands. These were the first restored seabird colonies in the world, and now serve as an inspiring demonstration of best practices in the restoration and protection of rare and endangered species.
The Seabird Institute now demonstrates its methods on a network of 13 island refuges – The Maine Coastal Island Sanctuaries. Seven of the 13 sites have seasonal field stations that collectively provide training and employment opportunities for over 20 interns and fellows, including early career conservation biologists and international seabird specialists. Restoration techniques include the translocation of young seabirds, the use of decoys and recorded sounds, and habitat enhancement activities such as chick shelter installation and seeding of native vegetation.
