Clown of the Sea

This week I've been running several marine themed events and I've learnt lots of facts about amazing puffins so I thought I'd share a few with you all.

Young puffins are known as pufflings

Puffins nest in burrows raising one chick each year

Normally catching 5-10 sandeels at a time the record for a catch is 62 fish!

Puffins mate with the same partner year on year and also use the same burrow

At the start of the breeding season puffins moult and become flightless for a short while

Between 26 and 29 cm tall puffins are shorter than most people expect

Puffins have a very odd call, similar to a cow moo-ing.
(If you don't believe me check here)

Unfortunately puffins are having a hard time at the moment. Due to sea level temperature rises over recent years their main food, sandeels, have moved north following their own died of plankton. This means puffins are having to fly further and try harder to catch their food. This is particularly a problem during the breeding season and a drop in breeding success is now being seen. For more information about puffins and how you can help them, check out the RSPB website.