Puffins, often called the “clowns of the sea,” are charming seabirds that are surprisingly interesting. With their distinctive colorful beaks and tuxedo-like plumage, these birds are a favorite among nature enthusiasts. Found in the cooler waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, puffins lead fascinating lives. My friend has a smallholding in the Orkney isles and puffins are a regular site on the coast there. From their impressive diving abilities to their unique breeding habits, there’s much more to these charismatic birds than meets the eye.
Masters of Two Elements
Puffins are excellent swimmers and divers, capable of diving up to 60 meters deep. They use their wings to “fly” underwater, propelling themselves with powerful strokes. On land, puffins waddle awkwardly, but in the air, they can fly at speeds up to 55 miles per hour by beating their wings up to 400 times per minute. Their ability to maneuver in both air and water makes them uniquely adapted to their marine environment.
Colorful Beaks
The puffin’s iconic beak is only colorful during the breeding season. In winter, the outer layer of the beak sheds, revealing a smaller, duller beak underneath. This transformation is part of their transition from breeding to winter plumage, a process called “molting.” The vibrant colors of the breeding beak are thought to play a role in mate selection and social signaling.
Impressive Fishing Skills
Puffins can hold up to 60 small fish in their beaks at once. Their tongues have rough patches that help them grip the fish against the roof of their mouths. This ability allows them to bring back multiple fish to their chicks in a single trip, making them incredibly efficient parents. Puffins primarily feed on small fish like sand eels, herring, and capelin, which they catch by diving and swimming underwater.
Long-lived Birds
Despite their small size, puffins can live for a surprisingly long time. In the wild, they typically live for 20 years, but some have been known to reach 30 years of age. The oldest known puffin lived to be 36 years old! This longevity is particularly impressive given the harsh conditions and numerous predators they face in their marine environment.
Monogamous Maters
Puffins are generally monogamous, often mating for life. They return to the same nesting site year after year, reuniting with their mate. Puffin pairs engage in billing, where they rub their beaks together, as a form of courtship and to strengthen their bond. This behavior is not only important for reproduction but also helps maintain social cohesion within puffin colonies.
Underground Nesters
Puffins nest in burrows, which they dig using their sharp claws and beaks. These burrows can be up to 3 feet deep and are often reused year after year. The nesting sites are typically on steep, grassy cliffs near the sea, providing protection from predators. The soft soil of these coastal areas allows puffins to excavate their burrows easily, creating a safe haven for their eggs and chicks.
Single-Egg Layers
Female puffins lay only one egg per year. Both parents take turns incubating the egg for about 40-45 days. Once the chick hatches, it stays in the burrow for 6-8 weeks before heading out to sea, where it will spend the next 2-3 years before returning to land to breed. This long period of parental care ensures that the single chick has the best chance of survival.
Specialized Feet
Puffins have unique feet that are adapted for both swimming and walking. Their webbed feet help them paddle efficiently in water, while their sharp claws allow them to grip rocky surfaces on land. This dual-purpose design enables them to navigate their challenging coastal habitats. The positioning of their feet far back on their bodies also aids in diving, allowing them to use their feet as rudders underwater.
Winter at Sea
Puffins spend most of their lives at sea, only coming to land to breed. During the winter months, they can spend up to 6 months floating on the open ocean. Their waterproof feathers and ability to drink seawater allow them to survive these long periods away from land. Puffins have special glands that help them excrete excess salt, enabling them to stay hydrated with seawater.
Distinctive Calls
Puffins make a variety of vocalizations, but they’re most vocal when underground in their burrows. Their most common call is a low growling sound, often described as similar to a chainsaw starting up. These calls play a crucial role in communication between mates and in defending their territories. Interestingly, puffins are mostly silent when above ground, likely as a defense mechanism against predators.
Surprising Strength
Despite their small size (about 10 inches tall), puffins are surprisingly strong. They can carry fish that are almost half their body length and can fly with weights up to 40% of their body mass. This strength is crucial for their survival and ability to feed their young. Puffins have been observed carrying up to 20 fish at once, showcasing their impressive strength-to-size ratio.
Climate Change Challenges
Puffins face significant threats from climate change. Rising sea temperatures affect the distribution of their prey fish, making it harder for puffins to find food. Changes in ocean currents and extreme weather events also impact their breeding success and survival rates. Some puffin populations have experienced dramatic declines in recent years, with some colonies seeing up to 80% reduction in numbers.
Unique Wing Design
Puffins have relatively short wings compared to other seabirds. This design allows them to “fly” underwater with great agility but requires rapid wing beats for airborne flight. Their wings are a perfect compromise between aerial and aquatic locomotion. The shape and size of their wings also contribute to their ability to take off from water, an essential skill for a bird that spends so much time at sea.
Protective Camouflage
While their breeding plumage is distinctive, puffins’ winter plumage is much duller. Their faces become darker, and their beaks lose their bright colors. This change helps them blend in with the dark winter seas, providing protection from predators during their months at sea. The seasonal change in appearance is so dramatic that early naturalists once thought winter and summer puffins were different species.
Remarkable Navigation Skills
Puffins possess extraordinary navigation abilities, enabling them to find their way back to their breeding colonies after months at sea. They use a combination of visual cues, olfactory senses, and possibly even the Earth’s magnetic field to orient themselves. Research has shown that puffins can return to the exact same burrow year after year, even when nesting sites are densely packed with thousands of nearly identical burrows. This precision in navigation is crucial for their breeding success and long-term survival. Recent studies using GPS tracking have revealed that puffins often take different routes to and from their feeding grounds, suggesting they may have a detailed mental map of their marine environment.
