by Florence Page Jaques

Oh, there once was a Puffin
Just the shape of a muffin,
And he lived on an island
In the bright blue sea!

He ate little fishes,
That were most delicious
And he had them for supper
And he had them for tea.

But this poor little Puffin,
He couldn’t play nothin’,
For he hadn’t anybody
To play with at all.

So he sat on his island
And he cried for a while, and
He felt very lonely,
And he felt very small.

Then along came the fishes,
And they said, “If you wishes,
You can have us for playmates,
Instead of for tea!”

So they now play together,
In all sorts of weather,
And the Puffin eats pancakes,
Like you and like me.

This delightful poem was shared with me by one of my fellow travellers, together with a recommendation to the podcast called “Animal”. Episode 2 is all about puffins. The podcast is well worth listening to, and it has prompted me to create this post about puffins.

You see, when we are in Greenland, in Nuuk to be precise, we have booked the Nuuk Taxi to take us out puffin watching.

I have never seen a puffin before! But they look like delightful creatures, and I was keen to find out more.

However, I am seriously running out of time, and so I enlisted the help of the said fellow traveller, who knows considerably more about puffins (and all manner of wildlife, for that matter) than I do. (Thanks Claire!)

Claire compiled this list of important facts about puffins. (You can read more at this website of the BBC)

“Clowns of the Sea”	Puffins have been described this way because of their colourful markings around their eyes and on their beaks, which are made more distinctive being offset against their white and black bodies. Moreover their eye markings portray a sorrowful expression, much like a clown.
Puffins lose their looks each year	After the mating season, puffins look completely different. Their feathers moult, and they lose all colour on their beaks and around their eyes.  Their “clown costume” is gone, until next year.
Puffins can fly under water	They flap their wings and use their feet to steer.

Puffin beaks glow under UV light	!!!
Puffins can hold LOTS of fish at the same time	On average they will carry up to 10 fish, but have been spotted carrying 126 fish! They can do this because their beaks are not like scissors. Rather the pressure at the front of their beak is the same as the back.

Puffins mate for life

Puffins will spend the winter at sea after mating, and then return to the same burrow and the same mate, following this cycle during their lives of around 20 years. “Billing” is their courtship display of bumping beaks.

Puffin chicks are called pufflings	What more can I say? Soooo cute!
The burrows are specially designed….	….with a bathroom.
There are lots of different species of puffins…	….and they are all small
Flapping and landing	Puffins can flap their wings up to 400 times a minute, which makes them fast, but not very efficient. Landing is often also a challenge. Puffins sometimes crash into the water, or roll onto the grass knocking over other puffins in their way.

Sources

• BBC.co.uk
• All images are copyright free from Unsplash