Fratercula arctica

Size: 26 to 29 cm in length

We are aware that puffins are not whales, but since puffins can be seen on our puffin tours, and also on our whale watching tours, we have added them with this beautiful illustration by Dawid Kilon.

Atlantic puffins spend the winter far out in the North Atlantic, living at sea and feeding through the colder months. Around May, they begin returning to Iceland and gathering near their breeding colonies. Spring is a busy time for puffins as they reunite with their partners, prepare their nesting sites and begin the breeding season. Puffins are remarkably loyal to their breeding grounds and often return to the same place year after year. They usually raise just one puffling each season. Although puffins generally form long-term pairs, they do not necessarily spend the winter together. They meet again at the breeding colony when spring arrives. Raising a puffling is a demanding job. The chick needs to be fed enough during its short time in the nest before it is ready to leave. One important factor is the availability of food close to breeding colonies, which can make it harder for adult puffins to raise a healthy chick.

One of the most recognisable sights during the breeding season is a puffin returning with a beak full of fish. Their beaks have special backward-facing structures that help them hold several small fish at once, allowing them to carry food back to their chick. Some puffins have been recorded carrying more than a dozen fish in a single trip! Puffins are also excellent underwater hunters. They use their wings to effectively “fly” underwater while chasing small fish, and can dive to depths of up to 60 metres in search of food! Watching them disappear beneath the surface and reappear with a mouthful of fish is one of the highlights of the breeding season.

And that colourful beak? It is largely a breeding-season look. During the winter, puffins lose much of the bright colour in their beak and facial markings, becoming much duller and more grey. As spring arrives and the breeding season begins, their striking orange, blue and yellow colours return — almost as if they are dressing up for summer.

Atlantic puffins are facing increasing pressures in parts of their range, and their populations have declined in several areas. We believe that enjoying puffins in their natural environment should go hand in hand with protecting them. For this reason, we ask our guests not to support puffin hunting by eating puffin meat while in Iceland. Puffins are a vulnerable species, and we would like to see greater protection for these remarkable birds and an end to puffin hunting in Iceland.