Puffin

Fratercula Arctica (Atlantic puffin)

An unmistakable seabird with its black back and white underparts, and distinctive black head with large pale cheeks and a tall, flattened, brightly-coloured bill. Its comical appearance is heightened by its red and black eye-markings and bright orange legs. Used as a symbol for books and other items, this clown among seabirds is one of the world's favourite birds. Click here to view some Puffin facts.

Breeding

They prefer offshore islands and high seacliffs, and nest in burrows, under boulders or in cracks in cliffs where predators cannot easily reach them. They lay one egg and their young are called pufflings.

Wintering

At sea

What does it eat?

Fish, especially sandeels

What does it sound like?

A growling laugh or a highland cow.

When to see it

Adults arrive back at the breeding colony in March and April and leave again in mid-August. Some remain in the North Sea at winter, other move further south to the Bay of Biscay.

All about Puffins

In 1955 there were only seven pairs of Atlantic Puffins recorded on the Isle of May. At the latest count, there were over 100,000. The islands of Fidra and Craigleith are also home to puffins. Zooming in with our amazing live interactive cameras, you'll see hundreds of puffins loafing on the waves and scuttling around the rocks.

Puffins, often known as seabird clowns of the air, gather in usually inaccessible offshore Island Puffinries to breed. They spend the winter in the North Sea and North Atlantic before returning to the islands in the spring. Puffins nest in burrows underground, under boulders, or in rocky crevices.

One egg is laid, which hatches about six weeks later, and after hatching the young puffin remains underground concealed in the nest, until the night comes for it to head for the open sea, not to return until it is ready to breed, usually some five years later.

Puffins are skilful fishermen, able to catch and hold up to a dozen or so sandeel in their beaks. Puffins favour grassy slopes, covered in pink thrift and other wildflowers, the perfect backdrop for photographers keen to capture the social gatherings and huge wheeling flypasts, so characteristic of a puffin colony.

Although dates vary slightly from year to year, the first puffins start to return in early April. Puffin numbers increase until by mid-July, they are at their peak with all the non-breeders and juveniles present. The air is alive with parents returning with mouthfuls of sandeel, making a dash for the safety of the burrow, before the herring gulls can mob them. By late August, all the puffins will be gone, the youngsters going to sea under cover of darkness, leaving the islands to the seals and the winter storms.