ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – It took a little help, but a young Atlantic puffin rescued last week from Montreal’s bustling downtown has arrived in its suspected home on the East Coast.
The wayward puffin, believed to be less than a year old, touched down today at the airport in St. John’s, N.L., aboard a flight compliments of Air Canada.
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Stan Tobin of the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Association was waiting to greet the black-and-white bird.
Tobin says the puffin will stay at a bird rehabilitation centre for a week or so, depending on its condition, and eventually will be taken offshore and released.
Newfoundland is home to nearly all Canadian breeding grounds for the birds with their distinctive orange beaks.
A veterinary technician spotted the disoriented puffin toddling down a busy Montreal street a week ago, more than 1,000 kilometres away from the Atlantic coast.
It’s unclear how the puffin ended up in Montreal, but one theory is that it may have boarded a ship in Atlantic Canada and hitched a ride.
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