UNDERGROUND ARCHITECTS
Puffins are well known for their colourful appearance and charismatic expressions, but have you ever had a closer look at their rather unique nesting behaviour?
Probably one of the most fascinating aspects of the puffins’ life cycle is their use of burrows to raise their young:
Puffins spend most of the year at sea, but then, as the breeding season commences, all of them return to their colonies along sea cliffs, grassy shorelines or islands.
Unlike other seabirds, puffins don’t nest on open ledges, but instead, dig burrows into the soil. Using their beaks and feet, they dig tunnels that can be up to a metre long. These tunnels typically end in a nesting chamber, lined with grass, feathers, and other soft materials.
A puffin couple usually returns to the same burrow year after year: rather than building a new tunnel, they will repair and sort out what got damaged during the winter months.
FUN FACT: Usually by the entrance, a toilet area is established. The parents will regularly clean out the burrow, using their beaks, feet and even wooden sticks to dig out the dirt. Keeping the burrow tidy ensures that their feathers stay clean, especially those of the chicks. Dirty feathers would make it impossible for them to learn to fly - but even worse, they'd lose their waterproof protection, which is essential when having to survive the harsh winter out at the open sea just a few weeks later.
But why all this effort?
The puffins’ burrows provide warmth, shelter from harsh weather and protection from predators, giving chicks a safer environment during the vulnerable early weeks of their life: After hatching, puffin chicks remain hidden in their burrows for about six weeks. Parents feed them small fish, like sand eels, brought in beakfuls. Once fully fledged, the young puffins leave the burrow at night and head to sea—often not returning to land for several years.
Text & Photos: Sarah Arndt (captain / head guide)
