10 Fun Facts about Puffins
Discover more about Britain's funniest birds, the Puffin. Nigel Ashworth has put together 10 fun facts about puffins after visiting Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire to see them.
Puffins AKA: "sea parrots"
Puffins may look like exotic parrots or even a bit like penguins but they are in fact seabirds. In the olden times, many pirates and seafaring types would call them sea parrots because of their peculiar appearance.
Puffins are great swimmers
Puffins are brilliant divers and swimmers. When in search of fish, they're capable of diving up to 60 metres or 200 feet. That's higher than a two storey house !
Fish Beware!
Puffins are well equipped to carry lots of fish in their peaks due to a special hinge in their beaks. This means they can carry 10 - 20 fish in their beaks.
Puffins Hook Up for Life
Puffins in love! wow! Puffins stay together for life and perform a wonderful courtship where they rub their beaks together. This spectacle can sometimes draw a crowd of puffins to see what all the fuss is about.
Puffins chill in their burrows
Once a puffin is worn out from rubbing his beak or fishing he or she can return to the comfort of their burrow where they can nest safe from the great british weather and not so great predators.
Puffins Fly Fast
Puffins can move! they can reach speeds of up to 55 mph and flap their little wings at 400 times per minute.
Puffins Love Britian
Ahh Britain! home of fish & chips, lots of rain and the royal family. It's also where the little Puffin calls home. Britain is host to around 10% of the world's Puffins with important colonies in places like Skomer island in Wales, the farne Islands over in England and St Kilda, Shetland and Orkney around Scotland.
Cool beaks!
Puffins beaks are cool - they can carry tonnes of fish and they change colour too! In the winter Puffins beaks are a dull grey but come spring things start to brighten up and they change colour to a colourful red, orange and yellow.
Baby puffins
Baby puffins are known as pufflings and will spend around six weeks in their burrows before scurrying out into the world. Usually, pufflings leave at night time to avoid predators.
Puffins wear 'shades'
Of course you won't see a Puffin with some ray bans. However, they have adapted to have specialised grooves above their eyes that reflect the glare from sunshine on water