Atlantic puffins are seabirds that are found across the North Atlantic Ocean. They breed in coastal areas and islands and spend the winters further out to sea. Atlantic puffins have black and white plumage and large, colorful beaks that give them a very distinctive appearance.
Breeding range
Atlantic puffins breed in colonies on islands and coastal cliffs. Their breeding range extends across the North Atlantic from Maine in the United States to northern Russia. Here are some of the key areas where Atlantic puffins nest and raise their chicks:
- Canada – Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island
- United States – Maine
- Iceland
- Norway including Svalbard
- United Kingdom – Scotland, England, Wales, Channel Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Ireland
- France – Brittany
- Germany
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Finland
- Russia
Some of the major Atlantic puffin colonies can be found in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway including its Svalbard archipelago, and Newfoundland in Canada. For example, Iceland hosts around 60% of the world’s Atlantic puffins with about 8 million breeding pairs. In the Faroe Islands, there are around 1 million breeding pairs across 17 major colonies. These cold northern waters of the North Atlantic provide the ideal habitat for Atlantic puffins to feed and breed successfully.
Iceland
The largest Atlantic puffin colonies in the world are found in Iceland. Up to 8 million puffins return each spring to breed there, equivalent to about 60% of the global population. Major sites include the Westman Islands, the Látrabjarg cliffs in the Westfjords, and islands off the Reykjanes peninsula near Reykjavik. Puffins can be readily viewed and photographed at many of these sites during the summer breeding season.
Faroe Islands
The remote North Atlantic Faroe Islands are home to around 1 million breeding pairs of puffins. Some of the major colonies are on the cliffs of Mykines, Stóra Dímun, Lítla Dímun, Mykineshólmur, and Kalsoy. The dramatic cliffs and scenery make the Faroe Islands a wonderful place to observe puffins in their natural habitat.
Norway
Norway has sizeable Atlantic puffin populations with around 500,000 pairs. Colonies are scattered along the rugged coastline and offshore islands. Important breeding sites can be found in Røst, Runde, Lovund, and Sklinna. The remote Arctic island group of Svalbard is also home to some 150,000 breeding pairs of puffins.
Scotland
Scotland has an estimated 300,000 pairs of breeding Atlantic puffins, mostly concentrated in the north and west. Major colonies are on the Shiant Isles, the Treshnish Isles, Handa Island, and the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth.
Newfoundland
Canada’s Atlantic provinces are an important stronghold for puffins. Newfoundland has around 1.5 million breeding pairs scattered across the island and associated smaller islands such as the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve and Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve.
Overwintering range
After breeding, Atlantic puffins head out to sea and spread across the North Atlantic for the winter. Their wintering range extends down past New England in the west, and past Spain, Portugal and northwest Africa in the east. They can be found offshore across thousands of miles of open ocean.
Some key overwintering areas include:
- Off the coast of Maine
- Around Newfoundland and Labrador
- In the Labrador Sea
- In the Greenland Sea east of Greenland
- Off the coasts of Norway and North Sea
- Around Iceland
- In the Bay of Biscay
- Off the northwest coast of Africa
During winter, Atlantic puffins spend most of their time resting and feeding far out at sea. They live pelagic lifestyles and only come to land to breed. Wintering puffins may congregate in areas of high food abundance.
Population and conservation status
The global population of Atlantic puffins is estimated at around 10 million breeding pairs. However, they face a variety of threats and declines have been observed in some regions in recent decades. The IUCN Red List categorizes Atlantic puffins as Vulnerable. Some of the key threats they face include:
- Climate change – changing ocean temperatures impact prey availability
- Overfishing – depletes food sources
- Predators – gulls, eagles, mink
- Pollution
- Habitat loss
- Human disturbance
Ongoing conservation efforts are aimed at protecting colonies, reducing disturbance, managing sustainable fisheries, and mitigating climate change impacts. With targeted conservation, Atlantic puffin populations can hopefully be stabilized and increased.
Conclusion
In summary, Atlantic puffins are seabirds found across the northern stretches of the North Atlantic Ocean. From Maine to northern Russia, they breed in dense colonies on coastal cliffs and offshore islands. After breeding they spread out across the North Atlantic for the winter, congregating in areas of abundant food. However, they face a number of threats and have undergone declines, resulting in a Vulnerable conservation status. Protecting breeding colonies and mitigating threats will be key to ensuring the future survival of these iconic black and white seabirds across their North Atlantic range.
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Physical description
Atlantic puffins are stocky, medium-sized seabirds. They measure around 25 to 30 cm in length and weigh around 400 to 600 g. Their wingspan is around 50 to 60 cm. They have black backs and white undersides. Their heads are black with white cheek patches. Their most striking feature is their huge, colorful beaks which are triangle-shaped and brightly colored with yellow, orange and red.
Breeding behavior
Atlantic puffins return to breeding colonies in spring, usually around March or April. They nest either in burrows in turf or soil, or in rock crevices and cracks. Often breeding sites are on grassy clifftops or slopes above the sea. Both the male and female help excavate the burrow using their beaks and feet. Burrows are usually around 2 m deep with a nesting chamber at the end. Lining the burrow with materials like grass, feathers or shells, the pair will lay a single egg. Parents then take turns incubating the egg and feeding the chick after it hatches around 6 weeks later. Chicks fledge at around 6-7 weeks, heading out to sea in late summer.
Feeding
Atlantic puffins are excellent swimmers and divers, using their wings to “fly” underwater. They mainly feed on small fish such as sand eels, capelin and herring. They can dive down to around 60 m when hunting for fish but typically forage closer to the surface. Puffins carry catches of multiple fish back to chicks at the colony, held diagonally in their beaks. Their beaks have grooves to help them hold fish securely.
Migration
After breeding, Atlantic puffins migrate across open ocean to spend the winter out at sea. Some juveniles remain at sea for 2-3 years before returning to colonies to breed. Puffins have high site fidelity, returning to the same colony and often even the same burrow year after year. They are capable of impressive migrations, with their range spanning thousands of miles across the North Atlantic between breeding and wintering areas.
Threats
Some key threats facing Atlantic puffins are:
- Climate change – Sea temperature changes affect the distribution and abundance of prey fish stocks
- Overfishing – Competition with commercial fisheries can deplete food supplies
- Predation – Nest predation by growing gull populations impacts breeding success
- Pollution – Oil spills and marine plastics can be lethal
- Habitat loss – Coastal development destroys nesting habitats
Conservation
Conservation efforts for Atlantic puffins include:
- Protected breeding colonies
- Sustainable fisheries management
- Predator control
- Public education
- Climate change mitigation
Ongoing monitoring of populations is also critical to track the effects of conservation efforts over time.
Significance of Atlantic puffins
Atlantic puffins have great ecological, economic and cultural significance. These include:
- They play important roles in marine food chains and ecosystem balance.
- Colonies support wildlife tourism industries.
- They are used as indicator species for the health of marine environments.
- Their appearance and behaviors captivate people.
- They have inspired arts, stories, stamps and legends for centuries.
Protecting Atlantic puffins is key to maintaining healthy oceans and coastal communities across their North Atlantic range.
References
Here are some references used in researching this article:
- BirdLife International. “Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)” from IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Bowser, A. K., Diamond, A. W., & Addison, J. A. (2013). From puffins to plankton: a DNA-based analysis of a seabird food chain in the northern Gulf of Maine. PloS one, 8(12), e83152.
- Guilford, T., Meade, J., Willis, J., Phillips, R. A., Boyle, D., Roberts, S., … & Freeman, R. (2009). Migration and stopover in a small pelagic seabird, the Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus: insights from machine learning. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1660), 1215-1223.
- Harris, M. P. (1984). The puffin. Poyser.
- Kress, S. W., & Nettleship, D. N. (1988). Re-establishment of Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) at a former breeding site in the Gulf of Maine. Journal of Field Ornithology, 59(2), 161-170.
- Lien, J., Hussey, N. E., Fisk, A. T., McMeans, B. C., & Wintner, S. P. (2020). Movements of a marine top predator in relation to human activities off North Atlantic Canada. Ecology and evolution, 10(10), 4619-4635.