The Tufted Puffins of Triangle Island, written by Deborah Hodge and illustrated by Karen Reczuch. Groundwood, 2025. $21.99 ages 6 and up

 

"A cool ocean is vital for the puffins - if the water is 
too warm, there is less food for the hungry birds, and 
fewer chicks are able to develop and thrive. 
       The parents carry the fish they catch back to the 
burrow, holding them crosswise in their beaks - up
to twenty small fish at a time." 

In this new book, Deborah Hodge invites readers to join her on a visit to a remote place off Vancouver Island where thousands of tufted puffins return to land after a long winter at sea. It is on Triangle Island that they will lay their eggs and prepare for the arrival of new life. The island itself is an Ecological Reserve, which means it is closed to the public in order to protect the birds there and their habitat. The surrounding ocean is a Marine Wildlife Area that restricts anything that might harm the creatures there. 

It is a secluded spot with no humans or land predators. It protects more than a million seabirds, including the 50,000 Tufted Puffins that return each year. The island is bustling with their arrival. The birds find their mates (same one each year) and clean out their same burrow or dig a new one, before building their nest at the back. One egg is laid, protected by both parents under their brood patch for the warmth needed. 

It takes six weeks before a tiny bird breaks through the shell and lets its parents know that food is necessary. Plentiful fish are at the ready for capture, so long as the ocean remains cool. The chick consumes everything provided, and grows quickly. Six weeks later, it is independent and gone! Other young puffins do the same. When summer comes to a close, all puffins fly to the cold waters of the North Pacific Ocean. The island is deserted, and will be until the following spring. I was amazed to learn that the young puffins stay out on the open ocean for two or three years. Once they are ready to lay their own eggs, they will return to the place they were born. And the cycle begins once more. 

Back matter offers thumbnail sketches of other birds that make their home on Triangle Island. Also included is further information about the island itself, a list for further exploration, and acknowledgements to those who helped with bringing the book to publication. 

This is an excellent addition to the Wild by Nature series which explores the unique links between ecologically sensitive species and habitats, and encourages the preservation of the world's wild places.