I have always wanted to see puffins in the wild but, since they spend a great deal of their life at sea or at the other side of the world when they migrate, the chances are limited. My husband and I had a great time seeing the puffins in Wales last weekend. On Sunday afternoon we took the boat out to Skomer Island where we were told we would see a veritable blizzard of puffins. There were thousands of them alright but I wasn’t prepared for how small they are and how fast they fly. I gave up on trying to take pictures and just enjoyed watching their crazy antics. However, I did manage to get a couple of shots that have been enlarged by my telephoto lens and the cropping tool on my computer.
Interesting fact – the multi coloured bills of the puffins only exist during the breeding season. Both male and female puffins lose their coloured bills once they head out to sea. Amazingly, there have been records of puffins from Skomer Island arriving in Argentina fourteen days later!!
