Tour Scotland travel photograph of Puffins on Isle of Mull, Scotland. A small auk, puffins are familiar as the " clowns " of the coast with their brightly coloured bills, bumpy landings and waddling walk. Puffins live in burrows in the short grass at the top of cliffs and feed on fish, such as sandeels, which they catch at sea by diving beneath the surface and using their wings to swim in pursuit. For most of the year puffins are out at sea, returning to land to breed. During the breeding season, displays of bill knocking and ritualised walking will result in mating pairs producing one egg, which is laid at the end of the burrow. The chick remains in the burrow until it is independent and ready to go to sea. Puffins come ashore in Scotland from late April until the middle of-August. July is the peak month to see adults with beak loads of fish coming in to feed chicks. Some of the best places to see them are the Treshnish Isles off Mull, Handa in west Sutherland, Hoy on the Orkney Islands, Noss and Hermaness on the Shetland Islands, the Isle of May in Fife and the Farne Islands just across the border in Northumberland, England.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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