Puffins through the year

Spring In The Puffin Colony

• After winter at sea, puffins return in brighter breeding plumage.

• Colour changes are caused by carotenoids in their fish diet.

Eggs and chicks

• Lay one egg (6cm), may lay a second if the first is lost.

• Incubation: 5–7 weeks by both parents.

Pufflings

• Covered in soft black down.

• Stay in the burrow, dependent on parents.

Fishing

• Parents bring sand eels and small fish to feed the chicks.

Summer In The Puffin Colony

• Burrows are lined with grass and twigs.

• Adults may linger after chicks fledge.

Autumn And The Return To The Sea

• In July, pufflings begin to fledge, leaving burrows at night.

• They stay at sea for 2–3 years before returning to breed.

• Puffins are monogamous.