PUFFINS!

https://www.instagram.com/reels/C8uaNFSpIgI/

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DQI8n_hDq_V/

Quick details on the puffin spots -

With 8- 10 million puffins on the island, Iceland is home to more than 60% of the world’s entire Atlantic population.

PUFFIN SEASON

Summer, between May and August, is the best time to see puffins. They arrive in Iceland in late-April or May and stick around until late August. During the day, they are often out fishing, so it is best to try to see them in the evening.

You can find guided puffin watching tours all over Iceland. There are a number of places on the island where plenty of Atlantic puffins can be seen. But you do not need a tour to see puffins if you go to some of the spots farther away from Reykjavik.

WHERE TO FIND PUFFINS

REYKJAVÍK
Two small, uninhabited islands – named Akurey and Lundey or the Puffin Islands – are home to a large puffin colony. The birds breed on these islands, which are located just a few hundred meters off the coast of Reykjavík.

Vestmannaeyjar (The Westman Islands)
About six miles (10 km) off of Iceland’s south coast is the home of Iceland’s largest puffin colony. Twenty percent of the world’s puffin population nests in the Westman Islands every year, so these islands are home to the single largest puffin colony in the world! This is also where you can go catch baby pufflings and release them to sea!!

This was actually one of the coolest things I we did in Iceland.

Every summer in the Westman Islands, baby pufflings fly out to sea following the moonlight, but in the last decade or so they have been flying towards the city lights and they crash land in the town. Now, Local Icelanders rescue them at night in cardboard boxes, take them home and then release them back to the sea the next day.

We released ours off the ferry on the way back to the mainland.

Borgarfjörður Eystri (where we went)
Every summer in Borgarfjörður, about 10,000 puffin couples nest alongside about 20 other species of bird. The ability to see so many different types of birds in one spot is highly unusual. The spot is amazing as the whole setting is beautiful and you can walk around and explore the little island.

HORNSTRANDIR NATURE RESERVE
Hornbjarg and Hælavíkurbjarg, in the eastern part of the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, are also famous puffin nesting places. The nature reserve is located on the northernmost part of the Westfjords.

THE LÁTRABJARG CLIFFS
These bird cliffs are 9 miles long and rise up to 1,447 ft. in height. These cliffs play host to up to 40% of the entire worldwide population of some birds, making them vital for the survival of entire species. 

Dyrhólaey Cliffs (Reynisfjara)

This clif area on the opposite side of the famous black sand beach Reynisfjara is also home to some Puffin colonies. You can see them just on the other side of the viewpoint trail. We have also seen them nesting atop of the sea stacks at Reynisfjara beach itself.

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Petting or feeding a puffin is one of the worst things you can do to them. Touching them destroys the special water-deflecting properties of their feathers. Please always show the birds respect and remember that they are wild animals, not pets.