Puffins are birds that are part penguin and part parrot. They are found around the Celtic world and are a popular sight. Many call them “clowns” or “clown birds.” These birds are characterized by their black and white color and their colorful bill, which glows under UV light (discovered in 2019).
These birds spend most of their time on the open ocean,
sleeping on the waves and diving 60 meters into the ocean for food, holding up
to 60 fish in their beaks at once. They only come onto land to mate. They come
back to the same place every year.
Puffins are said to be flirtatious birds. Puffins mate for
life and return to the same burrow every year to have babies. They use billing
to communicate and to show affection. Males and females take turns sitting on
the eggs. Their eggs hatch six weeks after they are laid. Baby puffins play
with toys such as twigs and bits of flowers.
One common location to see puffins is on Great Saltee Island
in Ireland, off the coast of Wexford. They live on the island from spring to
summer. Ferries run to the island from April to September, and visitors can
stay for up to four hours. No humans permanently live on the island, and it is
inhabited by wildlife.
According to the PBS show, “Kerry: Tides of Time,”
there are also 8,000 puffins that live on the island of Skellig Michael off Ireland’s
coast. They return to this island in April for nesting season and lay their
eggs in May. After their eggs hatch, they leave their burrows alone and return
the following year.
Aside from Ireland, puffins make an appearance on land in
other Celtic nations. The only breeding colony of puffins in Cornwall is off
the coast of Padstow.
There are several places see them in Scotland, including the Isle of May, Handa
Island, Troup Head, Duncansby Head, and other places.
Skomer Island is the most popular destination for seeing puffins
in Wales, though there are other places they can also be spotted. Brittany is
the only place in France where puffins can be seen, specifically at the Sept-Iles
nature reserve in Trégor. Manx Wildlife Trust has a Puffin Project to protect
and research the birds. Puffins are not commonly seen in Galicia, though hundreds
of puffins washed up dead or injured on Galician shores.