Lost Puffin Found 1,000 Miles Away From Home in Montreal
A lost seabird, likely from off of Canada’s Atlantic coast, has been found almost 1,000 miles from home walking on a busy downtown Montreal street.
The wayward Atlantic puffin, a bird species that seldom comes into contact with humans, made its unannounced appearance last Thursday evening on Crescent Street, in the center of Montreal. This is one of the busiest nightlife strips in Canada, according to The Canadian Press.
Susan Wylie, the director of local bird-rehabilitation center Le Nichoir, which has been caring for the young puffin, was happy the bird was unharmed.
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TheStar.com reported Wylie credited an observant veterinary technician, who by chance was nearby, for rescuing the bird away from the Street's chaotic traffic.
"He was running in the street. Luckily, she knew what type of bird it was and grabbed him," Wylie said. Good thing for the technician the bird is not very fast on its feet, “They don't run very quickly because they're diving birds,"
The Atlantic puffin is the iconic bird of the northeast. It is also the official bird of Newfoundland and Labrador, where nearly all Canadian puffin breeding grounds are located.
Yet the puffin may be closer to home than some people think, according to one seabird behavior expert.
Bill Montevecchi, a biologist at Newfoundland's Memorial University, told The Canadian Press that the bird might originate from a colony in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and could have flown to Montreal on its own.
"They're much more apt to get disoriented just because they haven't been around the block, essentially," said Montevecchi, who noted the Atlantic puffin is not a species at risk.
To a seabird the dark, wet pavement of city roads may look similar to the ocean from the air, he added.
He explained while Montreal is far from this Atlantic puffin's likely home, the increasing number of city lights along the coasts are causing more and more of these birds to veer off course.
Montevecchi said puffins, particularly young ones, are often attracted by the lights.
