View allAll Photos Tagged puffling
NEW BEDDING, to reline its young pufflings nest. A endearing and unmistakable seabird, seen on Skomer Isand.
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HAVE SOMEHOW LOST MY MAIN FILLED MEMORY CARD, FROM MY SKOMER VISIT< SO HAVE NOT A LOT TO POST, AM UPSET OVER THIS TO SAY THE LEAST. !!!!
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THANK YOU, for you visit, will endeavor to try to catch up with comments.
Stay well and safe, God bless...............................Tomx
Best large
There is nothing quite like the extraordinary sight of these spectacularly colourful little seabirds arrowing repeatedly across the shores of these islands, stubby wings flapping ten to the dozen, bills laden with sand eels, as they dodge robbing gulls, to land and feed their puffling chicks waiting in their burrows.
Thank you for your faves and comments.
Atlantic Puffin seems to be guarding the burrow where the young puffling is.
July 14, 2018
Atlantic Puffin
Machias Seal Island, NB Canada
Puffin - Fratercula Arctica
These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil. Two species, the tufted puffin and horned puffin, are found in the North Pacific Ocean, while the Atlantic puffin is found in the North Atlantic Ocean.
All puffin species have predominantly black or black and white plumage, a stocky build, and large beaks. They shed the colourful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean's surface.
Puffins form long-term pair bonds or relationships. The female lays a single egg, and both parents incubate the egg and feed the chick (or "puffling"). The incubating parent holds the egg against its brood patch with its wings. The chicks fledge at night. After fledging, the chicks spend the first few years of their lives at sea, returning to breed about five years later. Puffins in captivity have been known to breed as early as three years of age.
After breeding, all three puffin species winter at sea, usually far from coasts and often extending south of the breeding range.
Iceland is the home to most of the Atlantic puffins with about 10 million individuals. The largest single puffin colony in the world is in Westmann Isles, islands that belong to Iceland. In 2009, scientists estimated the number of nests to be 1.1 million, and number of individuals there is estimated to be up to 4 million.
Used as a symbol for books and other items, this clown among seabirds is one of the world's favourite birds. With half of the UK population at only a few sites it is an Red List species
Population:
UK breeding:
580,000 pairs
PARENTS share incubation, they both feed the chick in its shallow burrow for about 40 days, then desert it. The chick stays in its burrow for seven to ten days, without food, as its plumage develops.It then makes its way to the sea by night to advoid hungry gulls. The young puffin does not return to the colony for two to three years, and does not breed until it is four to five years old. Seen at Skomer Island, South Wales.
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THANK YOU, for your visit and kind comment, will return to your lastest posting to comment very soon.
Enjoy your new week, stay well and safe...........God bless............ ............................................Tomx
A busy puffin parent bringing a mouthfull of sand-eels back to the hungry brood of pufflings in the burrow.
This lovely Puffin was heading for the burrow to feed the Puffling on the Isle of May this afternoon.
Using very selective manual focus through a bit of long grass and wildflowers I was able to take this quite abstract feeling shot of a puffin. Shot at Bempton last week.
Shot of a puffin with his Sandeel lunch taken last weekend on the Isle of May… I never tire of photographing these guys.
Really looking forward to a trip to the Isle of May this year to photograph the Puffin's again this year... I can never decide whether these on Gannets are my favourite Seabird... I just wish you got a wee bit longer on the Island than you get... the time always shoots by... 4hrs on the island I think would be ideal... the 2.5hrs just never seems enough... the truth for me is I could happily spend all day there!
HORNTAIL
Bubu Land Costumes & Animesh Special Gacha Collection @ The Arcade
Compatibility: Tested with Maitreya, Freya, Jake and Geralt, but will probably work with any type of humanoid/biped mesh body.
25 Commons | 2 Rares | 1 Limited Edition
Commons:• 5 Puffling Costume• 5 Buzzling Costume• 5 Guardling Costume• 5 Dashling Costume
• 5 Fruitling Costume
Rares:
• Bubu Snapback Animesh Companion
• Bubu Officer Animesh Companion
• Bubu Fruitie Animesh Companion (Limited Edition) June 1-30, 2020
Maitreya Body, Catwa Susan Head, Palest Flower Buttercup Skin by Core, Sunflowers by Jian
Please see my blog for links to mainstores and events thank you
Bubu Land Costumes & Animesh Special Gacha Collection @ The Arcade
Compatibility: Tested with Maitreya, Freya, Jake and Geralt, but will probably work with any type of humanoid/biped mesh body.
25 Commons | 2 Rares | 1 Limited Edition
Commons:• 5 Puffling Costume• 5 Buzzling Costume• 5 Guardling Costume• 5 Dashling Costume
• 5 Fruitling Costume
Rares:
• Bubu Snapback Animesh Companion
• Bubu Officer Animesh Companion
• Bubu Fruitie Animesh Companion (Limited Edition) June 1-30, 2020
Please see my blog for links to mainstores and events
rachelswallows.blogspot.com/2020/06/just-call-me-honey.html
Shoot location Lake Delaria
Apologies for being quiet on here this week... Its just been one of those weeks time wise. When I did have time to myself I was off out with the camera as it had felt like ages since I was last out properly. I took the day off work and had a much needed day to myself on Wednesday and it was soo nice to take the boat out to the Isle of May and photograph the Sea Birds!
It was a funny old day... pouring down when I got to Anstruther and as we boarded the boat... but as we got out to the Island the sun appeared for 3 glorious hours and I had a feast of seabirds to photograph. It was possibly a few weeks away from the optimum time to be there as the arctic terns where not overly settled yet in the nesting area and where very difficult to photograph as they stayed so high in the sky... but I devoted a good hour to them at the end and got a few nice shots.
This was one of my first of the day though... I was very conscious to work on my composition rather than just going for the obvious straight shots... So I'll post my images over the next few weeks and I hope you enjoy them. The best thing about the day however was the amazing sense of freedom and wellbeing I got from being on the Island... Its been a long time coming since COVID made such experiences a luxury!
This puffin was checking on the puffling in between the large boulders. On this Island we can see thousands of Atlantic Puffins coming and going out to sea to get food for the chicks ... but we don't see the chicks. They are well hidden and when they are old enough, the parents stop feeding them so that they make their way to the sea at night.
Atlantic Puffins
July 14, 2018
Machias Seal Island NB Canada
Taken on the Isle of May on my last visit. It was quite a misty day at times and made the Terns quite difficult to photograph. They just blended into a grey sky too much and did not make for exciting photographs. As the boat times where fairly tight I decided Id concentrate of Puffins as they where getting a little more light on them. I was really looking for a shot like this with a mouth full of sand eels but I didn't have much luck in spotting one with the mouthful... but you work with what you get don't you? I knew this would look better with a dark background so it took a wee bit positioning to find a good location... then a bit patients so the Puffin would stand in just the right spot!
The puffins and other Seabirds will be returning to our shores. I probably enjoy photographing sea birds more than any other birds. I enjoy being in the environment they live in... its an assault on the senses in so many ways and I just love being by the sea! I'll defo be going to many of my fave spots this year as we have a few holidays planned by the sea.
Looking forward to the Spring now!
This was taken on the Isle of May last year. With it being quite a big family birthday weekend I've not been out to do any specific photography... but I did manage a few wee snaps yesterday at a wee day trip out to the Scottish Owl Centre!
Another image from the Isle of May... Quite a simple composition of a Puffin flying with the OOF horizon in the background and the contrasting blues of the sky and the sea.
I was looking back through my Isle of May images to see if I'd missed anything still worth processing and this image jumped out at me. I'd initially discounted it as actually in the frame there was a second birds wing in the corner of the shot that flew in just as I took this... but with a clever crop and a little cloning I was able to eliminate the photobombing birds wing out the shot!
Got my inspiration for the title from a Mike and the Mechanics song from the 80s! Just listened to it on you tube... forgot how much I liked it!
As summer descends my photostream will make it's usual shift from landscapes and into wildlife and motorsports photography as they are not so dependant on the early morning and late evening light. I took my first trip to the Isle of May yesterday to photograph the sea birds. Whilst there was thousands of birds on the island I definitely felt it was quieter and down in numbers from previous years I've been... but it was still a wonderful spectacle and I spent an enjoyable few hours photographing the sea birds. I usually spend too much time on the puffins and arctic terns... so this year I purposefully spent more time in the areas populated by the razorbills and guillemots. However do expect puffin and tern photos also!
Another shot from the Isle of May of a Puffin… Again I used the rocks to create an OOF area which i hope adds to the look of the picture and makes it more interesting indicating at its environment but not distracting from the subject… let me know if you think this technique works?!
Another one from my recent trip to the Isle Of May... I liked this puffin just chilling on a rock catching some sun... all around him was quite a frenzy of birds but he just seemed quite cool sitting there taking it just nice and easy! I don't know if puffins grow grey with age but he was looking like he was needing some "Just for Puffins"
I was listening to some troubling news about many dead seabirds (especially Guillemots) being washed up on East Coast shores of the UK. Scientists are not 100% sure why but they feel it is something to do with climatic change and sea temperature rises. The fish they eat don't seem to be in the usual places and the seabirds are starving to death or being spotted unusually close to shore for this time of year. Seabirds as the name suggests are meant to live out at sea and not in our inshore waters... they only visit the land in spring to bread and raise offspring... then come mid August they return to the safety of the offshore waters.
This shot was taken back on the Isle of May in May of this year... I do hope this fellow is still fairing well at sea and found a patch of sea with fish!
These two Razorbills where clearly in love. Taken back on the Isle of May last week.
What a busy day of odd jobs about the house it was meant to be a relaxing day... and in a way it was... but not sitting here as I'd hoped having a good flickr catch up... but that's life with kids... We decided to have a race with our radio control cars... so course all set up, batteries charged... on yer marks, get set, go go GO!!! But my youngest's wouldn't work... the motor was working fine it just wasn't picking up the RC signal.... most probably caused by him splashing through puddles with it when last used! So myself and my older son raced cheered on by a rather disappointed younger son. So what was meant to be a quick hour of RC fun ended up being an afternoon in my garage stripping the RC system out his car... a drive to the hobby shop to get a new one... then fitting and testing it... and a happy boy again so we went out and had another race up and down the street... much to the amusement of the old woman at number 7! We don't normally do it in the street as to be honest its a bit tight for the ones we have which are fairly rapid!
Another shot taken on the Isle of May with me lying down looking down a crevice in the cliff at a Guillemot staring back at me! I like the ones with the white lines at their eyes... its like they have glasses on!
I know I've been posting a fair bit of motorsports photography lately which I appreciate not everyone enjoys... so I thought I better give the cars a break for today and post a wildlife shot! Hopefully going out on a landscape shoot tomorrow too down in East Lothian so we will see what that leads to!
This was a Puffin (obviously) on the Isle of May.
Puffins are often known as sea clowns, they are such fun to watch and the Isle of May I think is the best place with the exception of Shetland or St Kilda to go see them at close quarters. I was trying here to get a shot of one flying but rather than just a straight shot add some feeling of environment. I noticed a stretch where they flew low over the land before landing at their burrows so set about trying to catch one in flight. Must have been there a good 15min with a puffin passing every 30 sec before I got one I was happy with in terms of its positioning for a 2:1 composition.
As I said last night I'll miss the Puffins this year on the Isle of May.
Stay at Home and Stay Safe... I don't think things will be back to normal till October... and quite rightly soo! Too many sad stories effecting too many families soo far.
Simple puffin portrait I'd actually forgot to process from back in the summer! Nice simple wee edit for tonight after a long day at work. I loved how the puffin just stared down the barrel of my lens for 5 sec whilst I could take the shot.
Took this on the Isle of May earlier this year... Puffin showing off with his mouthful of fish... or was he just waiting for all those silly humans pointing cameras at him to give him a bit peace and privacy to eat his dinner? Have you noticed you never actually see Puffin's eating the sandeels they stand with in their beaks... they clearly do eat... they just like to do it in private I think. Shot prob could have done with a narrower DOF or the background further away but was at the limits of my situation and cant afford or lift these big 500mm f4 lens.
Having a nice time away with the family... camera has not even been out the bag yet but there will be time later in the week... we are going out for an all out traditional day at the sea side tomorrow in Scarborough... there will be outdoor swimming pool, beach, amusements, haunted house, victorian tram, 2p slot machines, amusements, teddy grab machine, fish and chips on a bench with a sea view, ice cream, arcade games and probably a second Ice Cream!
Taken on the Isle of May back in May just a nice simple shot of a guillemot and me peeping over the cliff to take the shot creating the OOF area in the foreground.
1st day back at work today... already my holiday seems a dim and distant memory!
Ile de May, Ecosse.
Ce Macareux peut être fier de sa pêche mais ... ce poisson est bien trop gros pour son poussin (Puffling) qui risque de s'étouffer avec. Si les Macareux ne trouvaient plus que des poissons de cette taille, ils devraient chercher un autre site de nidification. Cela ne semble pas être un problème sur l'Ile de May, pour le moment, la grande majorité des parents rapportant des lançons.
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Isle of May, Scotland.
This Puffin can be proud of its large fish but ... it is far too big for the Puffling because he can choke trying to eat it. In case of no appropriate fishes like sand eels, the parents should find another nesting place. It's not a problem on the Isle of May, for the moment, as parents bring mostly sand eels to feed their chick.
I do hope I can get a trip in this year to the Isle of May to see the Puffins... Many of them should be back by now for the breeding season. I do have my doubts though... as they are away usually early August and well with the Virus... I'm fairly sure we will still be social distancing by then and the boat won't run as its quite cramped on the boat. We will just have to see... fingers crossed! If not... there will always be next year!
Some Puffins would return with their catch and wait around a while before returning to their burrow to feed their pufflings.
A shot of an Arctic Tern backlit against a blue sky with just a tinge of cloud to make it interesting! It's already quite a severe crop as they where flying quite a distance away.
Im booked up in a months time for another trip however so hopefully then they will be more active lower down returning back and forth to feed their young.
This Puffin is just waiting for the right moment to head back off to the safety of the sea for another winter. Its funny to think that a place which seems so hostile and inhospitable to us as humans if where these hardy wee birds feel the safest! Good luck to the pufflings from this year too who face 3 initial years out in the North Atlantic before they head back to the Island where they where born for the 1st time to join the colony in summer Island life!
I really cant decide what is my favourite sea bird to photograph... they all present different challenges... I would say however the tern along with the Gannet is up there! The shapes and form they create in the air are so artistic!
I was probably a bit early in the season to photograph them when I was at the Isle of May last wed as they had not fully settled in the nesting area and for the most part flew very high up making the photos a challenge. The sky was very bright one way and very grey the other as a big rain cloud came in creating quite contrasty light which was hard to control the exposure and keep the highlights in check! I got a few nice shots... I should have increased my shutter speed for this one which came in low... but id been photographing a static puffin just before and forgot to increase it in the giddy panic I got myself into at the sight of a low flying tern!
Its about time for the pairs of puffins to say goodbye to each other and head out to see. This pair seemed to be doing a ritual of looking at each other, then one looking away, then the other one looking and the other looking away. I watched them for about 5 mins doing it and it really made me laugh. It reminded me of the video for the Abba song... Knowing Me, Knowing You... which in a way really fits this moment in a pair of puffins life as they head off to sea again for the winter not knowing if they will see each other again!
A Guillemot flaps its wings to reposition itself on a narrow ledge down the cliff face. Taken at the Isle of May at the weekend. Amazing place id highly recommend.
Im wondering if this image is too abstract to work? Its of a razorbill I spotted looking down through a gap in the cliff top. I wish I'd maybe shot it at f5.6 to get a little more DOF on the birds head but retained the OOF foreground... there was just something about the shape of the gap and in in focus bird I liked...
Quite liked this abstract feel to this shot of a Kittiwake on the Isle Of May.
Sorry not had much time to respond to comments in the last few days or catch up with others work... just been a hectic week. I'll hopefully have more time over the next few days! Have a great holiday weekend... and Well done Lizzy on your Jubilee!
Fratercula Arctica outside burrows
Spending winter at sea, every year thousands of puffins return to the UK to nest in their little hobbit-like burrows in the ground. Puffins are loyal to one another, each year mating with the same bird and producing one chick. This one chick, known as a puffling, keeps its parents busy through fishing to keep it well-fed and satisfied.
Flamborough Cliffs, Yorkshire
Its really interesting watching the terns fly. I noticed as they make sudden sharp turns they often take what is usually a V tail shape and fan it out flat like you see in this shot! This appeared to me to act as an airbrake! I must have then spent at least 20 min trying to capture it... until I was happy with this shot!