He knew that young birds do not arrive until after the breeding adults. Since there had been no breeding adults on this island for over 100 years, he had a problem. The solution was to use wooden decoys. These were placed all over the island to make i t look as if there were plenty of puffins about. Finally, tape recordings of puffin calls were played.
Puffins have a very unusual call.
The first transplanted birds were seen in June 1977. They continued to return each spring, even though they were not yet old enough to mate. This could only mean that it had a chick. Eastern Egg Rock Island was once again a breeding site for Atlantic puffins. In 1985, twenty pairs of puffins nested there.