Yesterday I revelled in the freedom of coming out of lockdown and returning to visit a favourite place, the magical Isle of May in the Firth of Forth. Here the puffins are back on land after wintering out at sea.
We got the “May Princess” out from Anstruther in Fife, although you can also take trips out to the island from North Berwick in East Lothian. I like going on the May Princess as there is space to move about on the boat and take some pictures at sea. The crew look after you well and share their knowledge with you about the wildlife on the island.
Every spring over 40,000 pairs of puffin return to the island to breed. This is the third largest puffin colony in the UK. Pairs bond for life and reunite at the same burrow each year. After getting reacquainted they spring clean their love nest. A single egg is laid and the pair take turns to incubate it over 40 days.
Puffins, sometimes called “sea parrots,” spend the first few years of their lives at sea. Non breeding puffins circle around the colony in flocks. It is only when they are 3 to 5 years old that come onto land in the springtime. Their beaks will have turned from a dull grey colour to bright orange to attract a lifelong partner.
After around 40 days a fluffy puffling hatches out and it spends another 40 days in the burrow before leaving it under cover of darkness to make its way to the sea. Gulls are the main predator of puffins and it would be too dangerous for the pufflings to emerge onto land in the daytime.
Puffins feed on herring, hake and sand eels. Once the pufflings are hatched the puffins will stuff their beaks with sand eels to take back to the burrows to feed their chick. This photo below is from a previous visit to the May Isle in mid June.
Puffins also get called “clowns of the sea.” Another name for a group of puffins is a circus!
The May Isle’s reserve manager David Steel, describes visiting the May Isle at the height of the puffin breeding season as giving you “the feeling of being inside a puffin snow globe.” It wasn’t quite as busy as that yesterday but I’m tempted to go back in June!
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 