The Puffins have Landed

Yes, 55,000 pairs have landed on the Isle of May! Last Wednesday we took a boat trip on “The May Princess” from Anstruther to see them. There hardly looked anything like over 100,000. However most of those on land had now reunited with their life partners and were now sitting on single eggs in their burrows. Thankfully there were still enough to photograph on this beautiful blue sky day.

Some were maybe still pairing up like this couple below? Puffin courting involves clicking their primary coloured beaks together in a ritual known as “billing”.

The burrows are quite shallow and are about the length of a human arm. Visitors to the island must stick to the marked paths as they could easily trample on and crush a burrow with its precious life inside.

Pairs take it in turns to sit on eggs or fly out to fish at sea. So we saw some puffins returning for incubation duty and some setting off out to their shift back at sea.

For this one time to go back into the darkness …

For this one its wey hey, flying out into the light to find some sand eels to eat!

The best time to see the puffins will be in June when there are thousands of hungry baby puffins known as “pufflings” to feed. Then the island will be a hive of activity with parents coming and going from the sea with beaks full of sand eels to feed their young. This next photo was taken many years ago from a trip taken in June.

Next year I hope to book early and visit the island with a friend in June to see this wonderful spectacle again. Farewell till next time puffin pals …