Satellite telemetry reveals post-breeding movements of Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica from Røst, North Norway

Abstract

In 3 different years we glued 29-g satellite transmitters to the back feathers of five Atlantic puffins Fratercula arctica breeding in Rost, southwest of the Lofoten Islands. The birds were tracked for a mean of 26 (range 7–46) days, and four were re-sighted (without transmitters) at their nest sites in the following year. The trajectories documented a unidirectional post-breeding migration towards the Barents Sea, completely opposite of that indicated by all but 1 of the 27 existing ring recoveries of adult puffins from colonies in North Norway outside the breeding season. We discuss the importance of what seems to be a regular visit to the Barents Sea in early autumn for puffins from Rost, which is still one of the largest puffin colonies in the world.