Puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Species
Puffin (Fratercula arctica). Taken on Skomer, Pembrokeshire, on May 6th 2014.
Taken on Skomer, Pembrokeshire, on May 6th 2014.
(1/400th sec at f11. Click image for larger version. © David Hastings)

Description

L: 28 - 34 cm; WS: 50 - 60 cm

The Puffin is an unmistakable bird 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.

It is found mainly around the weastern and northern British coastlines.

Puffins excavate burrows in soft grassy cliff tops. Rabbit burrows are often adapted.

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

It has Amber conservation status, as half the UK population is found on a few sites. There are around 580000 breeding pairs in the UK.

Sightings

21-May-2019 : Little Minch, Scotland
19-May-2019 : Little Minch, Scotland

01-Jul-2014 : Bempton Cliffs, E. Yorks
06-May-2014 : Skomer, Pembrokeshire

17-Apr-2011 : Isles of Scilly (1)

04-Jun-2008 : Farne Islands, Northumberland

12-Jun-2003 : Isles of Scilly

13-Jul-1999 : Isles of Scilly

10-Apr-1997 : Isles of Scilly