Puffin

One of the things that drew me to Scotland was that I could find Puffins in their natural habitat. Well, let me tell you this was no easy task at all! The first place I tried was called Troup's Head and it was a HIKE! A very small parking area in the middle of nowhere... the road actually went right through a farmers barnyard area! to a very small parking area and then... Hike. I am no hiker. I can barely get from one end of a parking lot to another without gasping for air (COPD). But I was Determined. I guess I walked more than a mile over a rough field to a cliff. At the cliff I saw a lot of Beautiful seabirds, but not a single puffins. I gave up and started the trek back wishing I had the forethought to bring a bottle of water along! Next place I tried was called Bullers of Buchan and it wasn't quite as long a hike but it had a path that literally was 8 inches wide, on one side a barbed wire fence, on the other a sheer drop down a cliff into the waters. I couldn't go too far on that trail, so no Puffins and gave up again. Finally we found a tour Guaranteed to see Puffins and yes we DID see them. My photos are terrible because, wrong lens, late in the evening, and it was Freezing cold! But the whole point was to see them and I did. :D

Done