Tufted puffins spend most of the year offshore in the waters of the North Pacific. During the Alaska summer months tufted puffins come ashore to nest, and they can commonly be found along the outside coast of Southeast Alaska, across the Gulf of Alaska, down the Alaska Peninsula, and out to the end of the Aleutian Chain. Good places to easily see these pelagic, clown-faced birds are in Glacier Bay National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park, and the Pribilof Islands.
The two golden tufts on top of the puffin’s head appear during the breeding season and distinguish the tufted puffin from other puffins. The tufts are usually well coiffed and lay neatly along the bird’s head. This puffin’s tufts were all akimbo due to the howling wind blowing up the cliffs.
