![]() ![]() ![]() Not only does the oil make these beautiful birds sick, it destroys their waterproof feathers, essential for their survival. The main threats are overfishing, which can lead to a shortage of food for puffins, and pollution – particularly oil spills. Although puffins are not classed as an endangered species, populations in some places are in decline. ![]() Their main predators are hungry gulls, which can snatch puffins mid-flight or swoop down and scoop their tasty treat from the ground – so they need to keep alert!ġ0. In the wild, these winged wonders live for around 20 years. Both parents take it in turn to incubate the egg for the next 36-45 days before the baby “ puffling” hatches!ĩ. At the back of their burrow home, they build a nest lined with feathers and grass where the female lays her egg. When starting a puffin family, our feathered friends dig out a burrow using their sharp claws and beak, usually in a grassy bank or rocky crevice. The chicks of Atlantic puffins, or pufflings, hatch in burrows on high sea cliffs. This yearly tradition is what's known as 'puffling season' and the practice is a crucial, life-saving endeavor. They usually pair up with the same partner as previous years – some may have been together for 20 years!Ĩ. Watching thousands of baby puffins being tossed off a cliff is perfectly normal for the people of Iceland's Westman Islands. In spring and summer, thousands of puffins gather in colonies on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic Ocean to breed. What’s more, these brilliant birds are great swimmers, too! Using their webbed feet as a rudder, puffins can dive down 60m under water in search of their favourite fish.ħ. Puffins are fab flyers, flapping their wings up to 400 times a minute and speeding through the air at up to 88km an hour. Puffins are carnivores and live off small fish such as herring, hake and sand eels.ĥ. In winter, the beak has a dull grey colour, but in spring it blooms with an outrageous orange! It’s thought that the bright colour helps puffins assess potential mates.Ĥ. A puffin’s beak (or bill) changes colour during the year. "Some people kind of hold it like a football with the wings out and then they shoot it – but you know, it's not aggressive, are ready to go.Ask your parents to check out Nat Geo Kids magazine! (AD)ģ. "I don't see many people do this," Powers said, explaining that instead, most people toss them off the cliffs underhand. The gentlest way is to place them on the ground and wait for them to fly off the cliff when they're ready. There are a few techniques for releasing the seabirds at the " Beautiful Puffin and Shore View" cliffs the following day. The average size of an Atlantic Puffin egg is approximately 2.3 inches (5.8 cm) long and 1.6 inches (4 cm) wide. People are encouraged to log the weight of each catch on a website. Puffling patrollers collect data each year for scientific purposes. Then, they should be placed one bird to a box with some grass inside to help prevent feces from getting on them. It's common to collect four to 10 in a night, Powers said.Ĭatalán recommends using gloves to pick them up, which protect the handler from avian flu, and the animal from the oil or chemicals on human skin. Kyana Sue Powers Vestmannaeyjar is an archipelago of volcanic islands and rock stacks off the southern coast of Iceland.Ī flashlight can help find pufflings, which may be confused and trying to hide from potential predators. ![]()
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