Puffins
One of the main attractions in Grímsey are the birds and then especially the puffins. The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), or the Common Puffin is both captivating and peculiar and has been nicknamed ‘Sea Parrot’.
The Atlantic puffin has black and white feathers and a large and colourful beak, at least during the summer. A puffin’s beak changes colour during the year. In the breeding season the beak is brightly coloured with orange, yellow and black regions. Once puffins return to the open ocean after breeding, the colourful outer layer of the beak falls off, rendering it dull brown and significantly smaller. It’s thought that the bright colour helps puffins to attract potential mates.
It is a small seabird in the auk family, normally around 32 – 38 cm long. Wingspan 53 – 63 cm and weighting between 380 – 780 gr.
Puffins can be seen in Iceland from early April until late August. In Grímsey they usually arrive around 10th of April and leave the island around 10th of August each year.
Grímsey is one of the best places in Iceland to photograph puffins.
Interesting facts about the puffin
There are three species within the genus Fratercula: The one breeding in Iceland is the Atlantic puffin, it is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin are found in the northeaster Pacific.
Sixty percent of the world’s puffins breed in Iceland and the puffin colony in Grímsey is one of the largest in Iceland.
Puffins spend most of their lives out at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming. On land, it has the typical upright stand of an auk. At sea, it swims on the surface and feeds on small fish and crabs, which it catches by diving underwater, using its wings for propulsion.
The puffin is a poor flier. The puffin struggles to get in the air, beating its wings 300-400 times a minute just to stay in flight!
Puffins have special glands behind their eyes that filter excess salt out of their blood and excrete it through their nostrils. This adaptation allows them to remain indefinitely at sea with no reliance on fresh water sources. They only return to land to breed.
Puffins mate for life. Even separated by thousands of miles during the winter months, they somehow reunite at the same burrow each spring. They only lay one egg and raise their chick over the course of summer and return every year to the same burrow with the same mate.
Puffins don’t make nests, they dig holes. In spring and summer, thousands of puffins gather in colonies on the coasts and islands of the North Atlantic Ocean to breed. They dig their holes (or burrows) using their beaks and feet. They prefer to make their burrows in earth or between rocks on steep cliffs so predators cannot easily reach them. The burrows are up to one meter deep.
Like with some penguins, both parents take turns incubating the egg and caring for the puffin. The puffin spends most of its day inside the burrow, mostly feeds on fish and grows rapidly. After 36-45 days it is fully fledged and makes its way to the sea.
Puffin beaks are specially adapted to carry up to twelve prey items at a time, draped over the lower mandible in an elegant stack.
Puffins have a unique method of transporting food in their beak. A rough tongue holds captured prey against the roof of the mouth, allowing the beak to open and close to catch more prey without dropping the rest of their collection.
Puffins live a long life, normally around 20 years.
Some interesting links regarding Grímsey and Puffins
https://jvn.photo/grimsey-puffin-paradise/
https://photos.gudmann.is/portfolio/C0000T68vuGPHleI/G0000MIOAPJHWyKA
