Those snappy little seabirds Maine likes to claim as its own have come home to roost, so to speak. Just because it’s the season to multiply.

But Atlantic puffins claim island nesting grounds all over the world. It’s only been since 1973 that Project Puffin brought them back to the islands of the Gulf of Maine. Maine had had nesting puffins until 1885 when overhunting decimated the colorful little bird, often described as “clowns of the sea” or “sea parrots.”