First, a confession. I have never seen a tufted puffin.

Most are too far offshore, either on isolated rocks in places like Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge, near Oceanside, or out on the open ocean during the winter months.

Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach is an exception. It’s one of the few places where the birds’ nesting season between April and August brings them close enough to see onshore, typically during the morning hours when they are most active.

During that time, groups like the Friends of Haystack Rock often set up binoculars and spotting scopes to point visitors in the direction of nests and burrows on the grassy northern face of the rock.

I suppose I’ve been unlucky. I’ve tried the spotting scopes. No puffins.

But the friends group is returning to the beach this week for The Great Puffin Watch, which runs between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. through the Fourth of July as part of Cannon Beach’s efforts to hold a fireworks-free celebration, with consideration to the area’s wildlife.

Even so, seeing tufted puffins is less common than it once was. Populations have declined sharply since the 1990s.

In 2022, the Cannon Beach colony reached its lowest count since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began monitoring it, with only 74 puffins. But last year did see an increase, at 106.

Perhaps it’s time to try the binoculars again.