Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Bodega Bay [September 2007]
Tufted Puffins wear jaunty breeding plumage from April to September. At the time of this photo, the bird is shifting into winter plumage,when his entire head will be grey-black and his yellow cere (the skin where the bill meets the head ) will turn black to match the head. Our ocean-going birding trip in September out of Bodega Bay with Shearwater Journeys had amazingly calm seas and overcast skies, which allowed me to keep shooting all day. When we found this puffin on the water, the captain cut the engines and allowed us to drift close to the bird -- so close we could see the bird's feet under the surface of the ocean. The two furrows in the bird's upper mandible indicate that this bird is 3-4 years old and will reach sexual maturity in the next year or so.
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