Puffin Eggs
I was rather shocked to see "Puffin Eggs" on the front page of the Dining section of the New York Times Wednesday, as part of an article entitled "A Nordic Chef explores his backyard." I was shocked because it was the New York Times, always so pc, but am I wrong to be concerned??
Diana Johnson
I don't think it is an issue.
The chef lives in Denmark, and the article mentions puffin eggs coming from Iceland. As the article linked below says, "It is estimated that around 3 million pairs breed in Iceland each year – that´s 6 million puffins but only 70% of the total are breeding birds. So the total population of puffins in Iceland is between 8 and 10 million birds." The human population of Iceland is around 318,000 and I suspect puffin eggs have been on the menu there for as long as there have been people in Iceland.
http://iceland.vefur.is/iceland_nature/wildlife/puffins.htm
Roy Harvey
Beacon Falls, CT
--- On Thu, 7/8/10, diana johnson dianaajohnson@aol.com wrote:
From: diana johnson dianaajohnson@aol.com
Subject: [CT Birds] Puffin Eggs
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010, 1:39 PM
I was rather shocked to see "Puffin
Eggs" on the front page of the Dining section of the New
York Times Wednesday, as part of an article entitled "A
Nordic Chef explores his backyard." I was shocked because it
was the New York Times, always so pc, but am I wrong to be
concerned??
Diana Johnson
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological
Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in
Connecticut.
For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
Not only puffin eggs but puffins themselves are regularly eaten in Iceland.
From Wikipedia: "Their meat is commonly featured on hotel menus. The fresh
heart of a Puffin is eaten raw as a traditional Icelandic delicacy..." As
Roy noted, even though Atantic Puffins barely have a toe-hold in the U.S.,
they're quite abundant in their overall range. Because of personal quirks,
one of my favorite TV shows is "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Smithern." He did
a show from Iceland once in which he went out with locals when they caught
puffins out of the air at a nest cliff using very long-handled nets. And of
course later cooked and ate them. Quite tame compared to the huge spiders,
palm grubs and poison puffer fish he's usually consuming. The Scotsman
Gordon Ramasy also caught and cooked puffins on one of his TV food shows
once, causing a stir until it was revealed it happened in Iceland, where it
is quite legal.
Greg Hanisek
Waterbury
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roy Harvey" rmharvey@snet.net
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 2:19 PM
Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Puffin Eggs
I don't think it is an issue.
The chef lives in Denmark, and the article mentions puffin eggs coming
from Iceland. As the article linked below says, "It is estimated that
around 3 million pairs breed in Iceland each year – that´s 6 million
puffins but only 70% of the total are breeding birds. So the total
population of puffins in Iceland is between 8 and 10 million birds." The
human population of Iceland is around 318,000 and I suspect puffin eggs
have been on the menu there for as long as there have been people in
Iceland.
http://iceland.vefur.is/iceland_nature/wildlife/puffins.htm
Roy Harvey
Beacon Falls, CT
--- On Thu, 7/8/10, diana johnson dianaajohnson@aol.com wrote:
From: diana johnson dianaajohnson@aol.com
Subject: [CT Birds] Puffin Eggs
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010, 1:39 PM
I was rather shocked to see "Puffin
Eggs" on the front page of the Dining section of the New
York Times Wednesday, as part of an article entitled "A
Nordic Chef explores his backyard." I was shocked because it
was the New York Times, always so pc, but am I wrong to be
concerned??
Diana Johnson
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological
Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in
Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA)
for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
FYI,
Per July 7, 2010 update on Puffins Eastern Egg Rock, Maine - [On July 4th, 1981, twenty nine years ago, Steve Kress and Evie Weinstein saw a puffin flying over Eastern Egg Rock with fish in its bill – a wildly joyous sighting. That observation was the first of many during that summer which led to confirmation of five nesting pairs- the first since 1885.]
Puffins numbers at Egg Rock have continued to increase since that first sighting, with currently 99 active puffin burrows on Eastern Egg Rock - a record high number for this date. At this rate of discovering nests, last year’s record high count of 107 puffin pairs will be passed by the end of the field season.
Project Puffin staff helped to conduct a census of all terns in the Gulf of Maine from June 12-20. On Audubon-managed islands, a total of about 8,500 pairs of Common, Arctic, Roseate and Least Terns were tallied. This total for all species compares to a similar number in 2009, but populations of Roseate Terns have now declined by 25% over the past four years.
Pat Bailey
Sherman, CT
-----Original Message-----
From: ctbirds-bounces@lists.ctbirding.org [mailto:ctbirds-bounces@lists.ctbirding.org] On Behalf Of Greg Hanisek
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 4:37 PM
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Puffin Eggs
Not only puffin eggs but puffins themselves are regularly eaten in Iceland.
From Wikipedia: "Their meat is commonly featured on hotel menus. The fresh
heart of a Puffin is eaten raw as a traditional Icelandic delicacy..." As
Roy noted, even though Atantic Puffins barely have a toe-hold in the U.S.,
they're quite abundant in their overall range. Because of personal quirks,
one of my favorite TV shows is "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Smithern." He did
a show from Iceland once in which he went out with locals when they caught
puffins out of the air at a nest cliff using very long-handled nets. And of
course later cooked and ate them. Quite tame compared to the huge spiders,
palm grubs and poison puffer fish he's usually consuming. The Scotsman
Gordon Ramasy also caught and cooked puffins on one of his TV food shows
once, causing a stir until it was revealed it happened in Iceland, where it
is quite legal.
Greg Hanisek
Waterbury
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roy Harvey" rmharvey@snet.net
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 2:19 PM
Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Puffin Eggs
I don't think it is an issue.
The chef lives in Denmark, and the article mentions puffin eggs coming
from Iceland. As the article linked below says, "It is estimated that
around 3 million pairs breed in Iceland each year – that´s 6 million
puffins but only 70% of the total are breeding birds. So the total
population of puffins in Iceland is between 8 and 10 million birds." The
human population of Iceland is around 318,000 and I suspect puffin eggs
have been on the menu there for as long as there have been people in
Iceland.
http://iceland.vefur.is/iceland_nature/wildlife/puffins.htm
Roy Harvey
Beacon Falls, CT
--- On Thu, 7/8/10, diana johnson dianaajohnson@aol.com wrote:
From: diana johnson dianaajohnson@aol.com
Subject: [CT Birds] Puffin Eggs
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010, 1:39 PM
I was rather shocked to see "Puffin
Eggs" on the front page of the Dining section of the New
York Times Wednesday, as part of an article entitled "A
Nordic Chef explores his backyard." I was shocked because it
was the New York Times, always so pc, but am I wrong to be
concerned??
Diana Johnson
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological
Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in
Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA)
for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
Hi all,
Speaking of Puffins on Eastern Egg Rock, I recently had the amazing
opportunity to land on Egg Rock and view puffins and terns up close with
some other teen birders as part of Audubon's Hog Island summer camp. For
those who don't know, Hog Island has been running as an Audubon camp since
the 1930s (early instructors included Roger Tory Peterson), and it's for
adults and teens alike -- something I highly recommend to anyone interested
in birds, or even just in nature. Spending the week on Hog Island is an
awesome experience, and birding with and learning from people like Kenn
Kaufman, Scott Weidensaul and Steve Kress makes it even better.
Unfortunately, Egg Rock is closed to the public, but this year as part of
the camp everyone got to view it from boats circling the island, and us
teens were able to actually view the birds up close. It was amazing, if
bittersweet; it is likely, due to human disturbances (causing, for example,
inflated gull populations and the introduction of invasive plans), that the
populations of Atlantic Puffins and Roseate, Arctic, and Common Terns on Egg
Rock will only be able to continue breeding there if there are people
managing the habitat and predators on the island every summer. At the same
time, it was a reminder that, even though the natural balance has been
thrown off in so many ways, it is possible for one person to make an
incredible difference, as Steve Kress did by bringing puffins and terns back
to Egg Rock. Here are some links to images I was able to capture during the
few incredible hours we spent on the island:
Savannah Sparrowhttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0335.jpg
Atlantic Puffin in
flighthttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0259.jpg
http://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0259.jpg
Common Ternhttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0293.jpg
Roseate Tern in
flighthttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0396.jpg
Roseate Tern perchedhttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0530.jpg
Arctic Tern callinghttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0478.jpg
Arctic Tern flyinghttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0438.jpg
Black Guillemot staring at the
camerahttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0489.jpg
Two Black Guillemots
restinghttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0557.jpg
If you'd like to see more pictures from that week on Hog Island and from Egg
Rock (or if those links don't work for you), feel free to read my blog post
from the week:
http://warblings.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/hog-island-2010/
Sincerely,
Benjamin Van Doren
Cornwall, CT
On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 9:43 AM, PATRICIA BAILEY bails@att.net wrote:
FYI,
Per July 7, 2010 update on Puffins Eastern Egg Rock, Maine - [On July 4th,
1981, twenty nine years ago, Steve Kress and Evie Weinstein saw a puffin
flying over Eastern Egg Rock with fish in its bill – a wildly joyous
sighting. That observation was the first of many during that summer which
led to confirmation of five nesting pairs- the first since 1885.]
Puffins numbers at Egg Rock have continued to increase since that first
sighting, with currently 99 active puffin burrows on Eastern Egg Rock - a
record high number for this date. At this rate of discovering nests, last
year’s record high count of 107 puffin pairs will be passed by the end of
the field season.
Project Puffin staff helped to conduct a census of all terns in the Gulf of
Maine from June 12-20. On Audubon-managed islands, a total of about 8,500
pairs of Common, Arctic, Roseate and Least Terns were tallied. This total
for all species compares to a similar number in 2009, but populations of
Roseate Terns have now declined by 25% over the past four years.
Pat Bailey
Sherman, CT
WOW Benjamin, did you get some wonderful photographs. Thanks so much for
sharing. I was up visiting Eastern Egg Rock just a week ago and we saw a
razorbill as well, but we weren't able to get onto the island. Our Audubon
Guide was VERY, VERY excited about seeing the razorbill -- it indicates that
the decoys and sound systems may be working for this species, too. The
stands for observing the birds are all over the island and our boat picked
up the biologists who were out doing the field work. Great experience. I'd
like
to attend the program on Hog Island myself some year.
Sarah Faulkner
----- Original Message -----
From: "Benjamin Van Doren" nimajneb3@gmail.com
To: "ctbirds" ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Cc: "GILMAN, Ted" tgilman@audubon.org
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Puffin & Roseate Info
Hi all,
Speaking of Puffins on Eastern Egg Rock, I recently had the amazing
opportunity to land on Egg Rock and view puffins and terns up close with
some other teen birders as part of Audubon's Hog Island summer camp. For
those who don't know, Hog Island has been running as an Audubon camp since
the 1930s (early instructors included Roger Tory Peterson), and it's for
adults and teens alike -- something I highly recommend to anyone interested
in birds, or even just in nature. Spending the week on Hog Island is an
awesome experience, and birding with and learning from people like Kenn
Kaufman, Scott Weidensaul and Steve Kress makes it even better.
Unfortunately, Egg Rock is closed to the public, but this year as part of
the camp everyone got to view it from boats circling the island, and us
teens were able to actually view the birds up close. It was amazing, if
bittersweet; it is likely, due to human disturbances (causing, for example,
inflated gull populations and the introduction of invasive plans), that the
populations of Atlantic Puffins and Roseate, Arctic, and Common Terns on Egg
Rock will only be able to continue breeding there if there are people
managing the habitat and predators on the island every summer. At the same
time, it was a reminder that, even though the natural balance has been
thrown off in so many ways, it is possible for one person to make an
incredible difference, as Steve Kress did by bringing puffins and terns back
to Egg Rock. Here are some links to images I was able to capture during the
few incredible hours we spent on the island:
Savannah
Sparrowhttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0335.jpg
Atlantic Puffin in
flighthttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0259.jpg
http://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0259.jpg
Common
Ternhttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0293.jpg
Roseate Tern in
flighthttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0396.jpg
Roseate Tern
perchedhttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0530.jpg
Arctic Tern
callinghttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0478.jpg
Arctic Tern
flyinghttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0438.jpg
Black Guillemot staring at the
camerahttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0489.jpg
Two Black Guillemots
restinghttp://warblings.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/20100622_hog-island_0557.jpg
If you'd like to see more pictures from that week on Hog Island and from Egg
Rock (or if those links don't work for you), feel free to read my blog post
from the week:
http://warblings.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/hog-island-2010/
Sincerely,
Benjamin Van Doren
Cornwall, CT
On Fri, Jul 9, 2010 at 9:43 AM, PATRICIA BAILEY bails@att.net wrote:
FYI,
Per July 7, 2010 update on Puffins Eastern Egg Rock, Maine - [On July
4th,
1981, twenty nine years ago, Steve Kress and Evie Weinstein saw a puffin
flying over Eastern Egg Rock with fish in its bill – a wildly joyous
sighting. That observation was the first of many during that summer which
led to confirmation of five nesting pairs- the first since 1885.]
Puffins numbers at Egg Rock have continued to increase since that first
sighting, with currently 99 active puffin burrows on Eastern Egg Rock - a
record high number for this date. At this rate of discovering nests, last
year’s record high count of 107 puffin pairs will be passed by the end of
the field season.
Project Puffin staff helped to conduct a census of all terns in the Gulf
of
Maine from June 12-20. On Audubon-managed islands, a total of about 8,500
pairs of Common, Arctic, Roseate and Least Terns were tallied. This total
for all species compares to a similar number in 2009, but populations of
Roseate Terns have now declined by 25% over the past four years.
Pat Bailey
Sherman, CT
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA)
for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org