FreeLists / va-richmond-general / [va-richmond-general] Tern and Puffin Cam Activated - Maine

[Larry R Lynch <birder6@xxxxxxxx>]

forwarded by Larry Lynch   birder6@xxxxxxxx

--------- Forwarded message ----------

AUDUBON CATCHES TERNS ON TAPE!

Project Puffin's Seabird Cam Gets Up-Close with Common and Roseate Terns

Hog Island, Maine, June 11, 2003 - Audubon is pleased to announce that
researchers, students, and bird lovers all over the planet will once more
have the chance to get an intimate look at Maine's seabirds.  The Project
Puffin seabird camera is now beaming live-streaming video of Eastern Egg
Rock's nesting Common and Roseate Tern colonies, just off the Maine
Coast.  The tiny island is home to the world's first restored puffin and
tern colony and it is the largest colony of endangered Roseate Terns in
the state.  This is the fourth year that the camera has beamed real time
video to the web; to watch, click on:    www.projectpuffin.org 

The robotic camera was funded by the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, and is
the invention of Daniel Zatz of SeeMore Wildlife systems.  It transmits
microwave signals from the south end of Eastern Egg Rock to the Audubon
Visitor Center in Bremen, Maine, eight miles across Muscongus Bay.  A
unique feature of the camera allows an operator in the visitor center to
pan the camera in all directions, zooming in and out for closer views. 
The resolution of the camera is so sharp that biologists operating the
camera can read the numbers on tiny bands attached to the terns and
measure the length of the terns' beaks - a technique for determining the
sex of the bird.   Mainland operators can also wash the camera lens and
wipe it dry using remote operated windshield wipers. 

Currently the terns can be seen incubating eggs, which should begin to
hatch during the third week of June.  Around July 15, the camera location
will shift to enable viewers to see Atlantic Puffins.  The camera will
operate each morning from 9-11 a.m. to insure a variety of views of all
species within reach of the powerful lens.  Later in the summer, interns
on the island will occasionally provide on-line, narrated talks directly
from Egg Rock bird blinds. 

The National Audubon Society started Project Puffin 30 years ago this
summer. The program began in 1973 in an effort to learn how to restore
puffins to historic nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine.  Young puffins
usually return to breed on the same island where they hatched.  Armed
with that knowledge, Audubon researchers transplanted 954 young puffins
from Great Island to Eastern Egg Rock between 1973 and 1986. 
Transplanted puffins began returning to Eastern Egg Rock in June 1977 and
the colony has since increased to 52 pairs by 2002.  Through the
dedication of Project Puffin, Atlantic Puffins were restored to Eastern
Egg Rock after a 100-year absence and the colony is now thriving. The
techniques developed at Egg Rock for puffins also restored terns to the
island and the techniques are now used widely for rare and endangered
seabirds worldwide. 

Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the
habitat that supports them.  Our national network of community-based
nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and
advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage
millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation
experiences.

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