We followed the puffin road signs and passed the puffin statues but again, saw zero puffins in the wild. Related: Where to travel with your elementary school kidsĮven the street signs in Heimaey are puffin-themed Carrie Dykes / Lonely Planet In hopes of dodging what – to us – felt like an expensive, manufactured experience, we immediately booked our tickets to the land of fire and ice, in search of real magic in the wild, untamed landscape. That is, until Finn began to also bring up a trip to Disney, inspired by school friends. My husband and I were loosely talking about a family camping and road trip in Iceland, but nothing was set in stone. My 6-year-old son, Finn, had been obsessed with puffins for months, begging to go see the “clowns of the sea” in real life. The warmer the ocean gets, the more important it is to save young chicks, and the more wind up in trouble. Puffin population numbers have dropped over the years due to warming waters, which are not conducive to their diet needs and are uninhabitable for their usual fare. The islands are known as the puffin capital of the world and Puffling Patrol has been an annual custom for decades. The Westman Islands are islands formed by underwater volcanic action that took place 10-20 thousand years ago off the south coast of Iceland (only one island, Heimaey, is inhabited). Not only does the oil make these beautiful birds sick, it destroys their waterproof feathers, essential for their survival.Formed by underwater volcanos long ago, the Westman Islands are an important puffin breeding ground off the coast of Iceland © Carrie Dykes / Lonely Planet 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. They usually pair up with the same partner as previous years – some may have been together for 20 years!Ĩ. 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. Ask your parents to check out Nat Geo Kids magazine! (AD)ģ.
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