Christine's 1,000 Words A Day
Mr & Mrs P Puffin, 24 Burrowland, Treshnish Isles
Posted by Christine (Ellemford, United Kingdom) on 22 June 2012 in Animal & Insect and Portfolio.
Puffins breed in colonies on coasts and islands; several current or former island breeding sites are referred to as Puffin Island. The male Atlantic Puffin builds the nest and exhibits strong nest-site fidelity. Atlantic Puffins burrows are in soft soil, into which tunnels are dug; It is usually lined with material such as grass, leaves and feathers but is occasionally unlined. The eggs of the Atlantic Puffin are typically creamy white but the odd egg is tinged lilac.
Puffins form long-term pair bonds or relationships. The female lays a single egg, and both parents incubate the egg and feed the chick (or "puffling"). The incubating parent holds the egg against its brood patch with its wings. The chicks fledge at night. After fledging, the chicks spend the first few years of their lives at sea, returning to breed about five years later. Puffins in captivity have been known to breed as early as three years of age.
After breeding, puffins winter at sea, usually far from coasts and often extending south of the breeding range.
Iceland is the home to most of the Atlantic Puffins with about 10 million individuals. The largest single puffin colony in the world is in Westmann Isles, islands that belong to Iceland. In 2009, scientists estimated the number of nests to be 1.1 million, and number of individuals there is estimated to be up to 4 million.
I'm very much an amateur photographer. I live in the hills of the Scottish Borders which has fantastic flora and fauna, as well as wonderful light.
This image has been featured in 2 Remix collections.