We visited the puffins yesterday. They live on a rock just off shore of Elliston, near the tip of the Bonavista Peninsula. I took a photo with my iPhone.
Puffins live in burrows, so when you look at the top of this rock and see the area to the right that looks like overturned earth, those are burrows. We must have arrived during nap time, because we only saw about 10 puffins. (It’s nice to see a bird in the wild and be sure of its identity.) We also saw lots of herring gulls and kittiwakes, I think.
Here are some cool puffin facts:
- Puffin chicks are called pufflings. (Because puffins aren’t cute enough to begin with.)
- Puffins mate for life and return to the same burrow every year to raise their one puffling a year.
- The newborn puffling stays in the burrow for the first month or so, and then it heads out to sea, where it will stay for a few years until it is ready to settle down.
- Puffins live for 20 years +.
- They only have their multi-coloured bills during mating season. The colourful part is shed, like an outer skin, as winter approaches.
- Puffins swim better than they fly, but they fly with purpose, and can reach speeds of 55 mph. I imagine that, if you got between a puffin and the sea, it would fly right through you, like a feathered bullet.
Most puffins breed in Iceland, but there are a few colonies in Newfoundland. This one is about an hour and a half away from our home, and is the closest one. You can see the birds with the naked eye, but binoculars make a big difference.
An added bonus is that Elliston is the root cellar capital of the world, so when you’ve finally had your fill of watching the puffins, you can pretend you’re an extra in the Lord of the Rings.
Oh so cool. And exciting! Must be one of the very best parts of life in Newfoundland.
Those root cellars look to be in use. Are they? If so, who owns them? Individuals… families… towns… How does one go about procuring one? Did they once belong to Vikings? Inquiring minds want to know!
The root cellars are on individual properties, and they are located all over Newfoundland. But there is a particular concentration in Elliston – I’ve seen the number 130, and there probably aren’t many more people than that living there. Some of them are still used, some not. Sadly, no Viking connection.
“It would fly right through you, like a feathered
bullet.” Love it! I am learning so much about Newfoundland thanks to your blog! xoxo
Woah…root cellar capital! That is an amazing fact. 😃
They have the craziest (I mean coolest) everything in Newfoundland and Labrador! Are Puffins only called Puffins and Puffings, or do they go by other names?
Love your posts!
Peggy
They are also known as sea parrots!
Been catching up reading all your posts and enjoying the stories and the pictures, especially the beautiful scenery and of the course, the rubber boots!!
Fantastic that you are getting out and exploring and documenting your new surroundings.
Thanks for Sharing,
George
Thanks for reading!