Late to the Puffin Party

Last Friday I went on a boat trip around the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth. I joined 11 others on the rib named “Osprey” from Anstruther.

I nearly missed seeing puffins altogether but thankfully there were still a few stragglers around. Apparently there were 10,000 on and around the island on Wednesday! However they had all suddenly taken off out to sea en masse, as they do once their breeding is over. This year they did this earlier than usual.

Here is one with sand eels in its mouth. Maybe it still had a young puffling to feed. Puffins come onto islands to breed in May but all the rest of the time they live out at sea. Young pufflings once fledged will stay out at sea for three years until returning to find a mate and breed. Puffins stay with the same partner for life, but only meet up at breeding time.

I saw this guillemot chick with its parent perched on this rock edge on the cliff. It was the only one I saw.

There were some growing kittiwake chicks on cliff ledges too.

There were lots of shags and their young. The adult shags had black plumage whilst the youngsters, now the same size as their parents, were brown.

These are young herring gulls, a year away from having the white plumage of an adult gull.

Some gannets were flying past on their way to Bass Rock.

As well as the bird life the ever curious common seals came close when the boat stopped its engine and drifted for a bit.

All in all a super boat trip. But note to self, to see more puffins and other seabirds at breeding time, go during June next time.