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Dinner Is Served
The Atlantic puffin is often nicknamed “Sea Parrot” because of its large parrot like beak which changes color during the year. These little carnivores can hold several small fish at one time and can be seen with a mouthful. Even though a puffin has a cruising altitude of 30 feet, he is still considered a poor flier. Most of their lives are spent out at sea floating when not swimming. On land these birds chatter loudly, and on the sea they float silently.
Puffins come to land only to breed. They choose one mate for life lasting sometimes 20 years together. They lay only one egg each breeding season and raise a single chick. Instead of nests, they dig hole more than 3 feet deep. 60% of puffins breed in summer in Iceland.
Height: 12” tip of beak to tail Stand: 8” tall
Weight: 1.5 lbs
Population: Declining but not endangered
Trend: Warming ocean temperature, fish population decline, fledgling death

Cheryl Bowman was born in Pasadena, Texas, 1948. Her parents moved to the Rio Grande Valley when she was young. Her mother was a painter who influenced her love affair with painting. After managing an art center with a retail store, school, and gallery, she realized that the creative side of Art was what appealed to her. She began painting at 28. She received a BFA from University of Texas, Pan American in South Texas at the age of 38. She taught every medium at a Magnet school in South Texas for 19 years. Her travels around the world have influenced her variety of styles although the juxtaposition of shapes and colors remain most important in her work. As she strives to find her place in the great Pacific Northwest, she...