2 Types of Puffins in Alaska

Horned Puffins are slightly smaller than Tufted Puffins, weighing about 16 ounces. In breeding plumage, they have a black back and white underside, with a bright orange-red bill and orange feet. The most distinctive feature is a short black feather or 'horn' above each eye during breeding season, which disappears in winter. They have white cheeks and a rounded black cap. Their bill is thicker and more triangular than the Tufted Puffin's. Look for them around rocky outcrops and islands where they nest in burrows dug into soil on cliff faces.

Tufted Puffins are the largest of Alaska's puffins, weighing up to 24 ounces. In breeding plumage, they have a white face and dark back, with a distinctive yellowish tuft of feathers hanging from the back of the head, this tuft gives the species its name and is most visible from certain angles in good light. Their bill is even more massive than the Horned Puffin's, orange-red in color, and their feet are bright orange. In winter, they lose the tuft and become darker overall. Tufted Puffins inhabit deeper waters and tend to nest on larger colonies on more exposed islands than Horned Puffins.

Both Horned and Tufted Puffins breed across Alaska's coastal waters from the Aleutian Islands east to Southeast Alaska. Horned Puffins are more common in the western and central Gulf of Alaska, particularly around the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island, and Cook Inlet. Tufted Puffins occur throughout coastal Alaska but are especially abundant in Southeast Alaska and the Inside Passage. Both species migrate south in winter, leaving Alaska waters from roughly October through April. Their breeding colonies are found only in places with rocky or soil-covered islands and sea cliffs where they can dig burrows.

Both species arrive at their breeding colonies in late April or early May and remain through August. The peak nesting period is May through July, when birds are most active at their burrows and most visible to visitors. Chicks fledge in late August or September, after which adult birds depart for their winter range in the open ocean, far from shore. Seeing puffins in Alaska is strictly a late spring and summer experience; they do not occur in the state from October through April.

Tufted Puffins are more abundant than Horned Puffins in Alaska overall, particularly in Southeast Alaska and the Inside Passage. However, both species are common where habitat exists. Population estimates are difficult to obtain because colonies are on remote islands, but Tufted Puffins likely number in the hundreds of thousands across Alaska. Horned Puffins are also numerous but in smaller colonies. Neither species is considered endangered, though oil spills and climate-driven changes to fish populations can affect local abundance.

Atlantic Puffins breed in the North Atlantic and occasionally appear as vagrants to Alaska waters, but they do not breed in the state and are extremely rare. Unless you are an avid birder tracking rare sightings, you will not encounter Atlantic Puffins in Alaska. The two resident species, Horned and Tufted, are the only puffins you should expect to see during an Alaska trip.

Both Horned and Tufted Puffins feed almost entirely on small fish, especially sand eels, capelin, and young herring. They dive from the surface and use their wings to 'fly' underwater, reaching depths of 100 feet or more to pursue prey. Puffins carry whole fish crosswise in their bills back to their chicks, sometimes holding several at once. The bright orange color of their bills and feet is actually linked to carotenoid pigments in their diet; birds that feed well have brighter coloring, which appears to influence mate choice during breeding season.

Puffins nest in burrows that they dig into soil on sea cliffs, grassy slopes, or small islands. These burrows can be 3 to 4 feet deep and are typically shared only by the breeding pair. Both species prefer colonies on islands or cliff faces far enough from shore to be safe from land predators but close enough to fishing grounds to make daily foraging trips efficient. Kenai Fjords, Katmai, and the Inside Passage contain some of the largest and most accessible colonies. Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula are also important nesting areas, especially for Horned Puffins.

Puffins are highly colonial birds. They nest in groups ranging from dozens to thousands of pairs on a single island or cliff face. These colonies are noisy and active during breeding season, with birds returning to burrows throughout the day to feed chicks and spending evenings at the colony entrance. The colonial lifestyle offers protection through numbers; predators and human disturbance are less likely to impact entire colonies. Once a pair finds a suitable burrow, they often return to the same site year after year, which is why established colonies remain stable over decades.

Puffins are surprisingly vocal at their breeding colonies. They make low growling calls, gurgling sounds, and high-pitched yelps, especially when defending burrows or communicating with mates. These calls are rarely heard by visitors on boat tours because they occur mostly at night and inside burrows, but anyone visiting a cliff-side colony during breeding season may hear the background noise of thousands of vocalizing birds. The sounds are part of what makes a puffin colony experience distinctive and memorable during a wildlife tour in Alaska.