Rescued puffin gaining weight, eating well … obviously

An Atlantic puffin found in the woods on Hatteras Island earlier this month is gaining weight and appears to be eating well. A recent video posted by his caretaker shows just how well his digestive system working.

The small seabird is an unusual visitor to the Outer Banks, and even more unusual to be found in the woods instead of on the shore. The Virginia-North Carolina border marks the very southernmost point of their winter range, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Since the puffin found in Buxton wasn’t on the beach, “that tells me he didn’t float to shore and try to walk around,” said Lou Browning of Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation. The bird “has slight head wound … probably flying and got hit by a peregrine [falcon] and went down in the woods.”