Dr. Stephen W. Kress of the National Audubon Society started Project Puffin in 1973 in an effort to learn how to restore puffins to historic nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine. At that time, literally all the puffin eggs in Maine were located on two small islands — Matinicus Rock and Machias Seal Island. Although puffins are not an endangered species (they are abundant in Newfoundland, Iceland, and Britain), they are quite rare in Maine. The two surviving groups were very vulnerable to a disaster such as an oil spill, or accidental introducing of predators such as rats or mink.
The project began with an attempt to restore puffins to Eastern Egg Rock in Muscongus Bay, about six miles away from Pemaquid Point. Puffins had nested on the islets until hunters took out the last survivors of this once-flourishing colony. The restoration of puffins to Eastern Egg Rock is based on the fact that young puffins usually return to breed on the same island where they hatched.
Young puffins from Great Island (where about 160,000 pairs nest) were transplanted to Eastern Egg Rock when they were about 10 - 14 days old. The young puffins were then nested in artificial sod burrows for about one month. Audubon biologists placed handfuls of vitamin-fortified fish in their burrows each day and, in effect, took the place of parent puffins. As the young puffins reached fledging age (the time when birds leave the nest), they received identification tags so they could be recognized in the future. After spending their first 2-3 years at sea, it was hoped they would return to establish a new colony at Eastern Egg Rock rather than Great Island. Because this was the first time an attempt had been made to restore a puffin colony, the outcome is unknown.
Between 1973 and 1986, 954 young puffins were transplanted from Great Island to Eastern Egg Rock and 914 of these successfully fledged. Transplanted puffins began returning to Eastern Egg Rock in June 1977. To lure them ashore and encourage the birds to explore their home, wooden puffin decoys were positioned atop large boulders. These were readily visited by the curious young birds, which often sat with the models and pecked at their stiff wooden beaks. The number of young puffins slowly increased. In 1981, four pairs nested beneath boulders at the edge of the island and the colony has since increased to 37 pairs in 2001.