Wednesday 5 August 2015

Wild Bird Wednesday 158 - Puffin

The Puffin - or Atlanic Puffin or even The Common Puffin - is one of the star birds at Bempton Cliffs.  It is far less numerous on the cliffs than some of the other birds, and they are certainly less abundant that on the Farne Islands.

However, having to scan the cliffs with a little more care than at some locations seemed to make finding one (or even better two!) much more fun.  Good old Fratercula arctica seemed to the bird that most people had come to see on the cliffs, so I will start with this good value bird.

For those of you who have not seen puffins, they are rather short and stout birds, about 30cm high, with rather short looking wings.  In flight they look rather hectic, with very rapid wing beats.  When ever I see them flying (which is not often) I can't held but be reminded of winged footballs!

The first shot here is my favourite, as the stance the bird has taken seems to play into the hands of those of us who would put human thoughts into these comical birds.  It seems to me that the bird is thinking 'its a very long way down!'






There will be lots more bird shots from these cliffs in the weeks to come.

Now its over to you - click the blue button to link up and off you go.  Numbers were back up last week, so maybe a few bird bloggers have returned from their summer migrations!  Cheers SM.

42 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos! Love these guys!

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  2. Wonderful photos! I don't think we have Puffins on our shores, but I did just see some in captivity at the Monterey Bay Aquarium while on our summer vacation and they were so much fun to watch - constant motion in and out of the water!

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  3. The last shot is my favorite. It will be fun to see one in the wild someday.

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  4. Puffins are handsome birds! I would LOVE to see them to photograph!

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  5. Your fabulous shots are awakening my acrophobia! They are such interesting subjects. So far I have seen all three species in North America, the Atlantic, Horned and Tufted. Each sighting was such a memorable event.

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  6. Oh, puffins are indeed wonderful creatures. Saw thousands of them on the Sea of Alaska when we were there.

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  7. Cool, the Puffins are so cute! I would love to see them in wild some day too. Awesome photos. Thank you for hosting, have a happy week!

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  8. Amazing!!! The cliffs add so much to the magnificent birds...but the puffins...wow!!!!

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  9. I am jealous, would love to see these beautiful birds. Great photos Diane

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  10. Excellent! I would so like to have a chance to photograph these charasmatic birds!

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  11. I love puffins! They're sooo cute! Nice pics.

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  12. Great shots Stewart. I think you'll find my contribution this week rather topical.

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  13. Hari OM
    ....or perhaps it's thinking "If I don't bother with the wings, will I bounce at the bottom?"... &*> Great shots as always. YAM xx

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  14. A wonderful bird! We have just returned from Iceland and have taken many pictures of this and other birds. Tomorrow we drive to Runde in Norway to photograph even more! Happy week!

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  15. A very charismatic bird.

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  16. A beautiful environment and amazing birds.

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  17. These guys are adorably cute.
    I love their beaks and you have captured a variety of poses really nicely.
    Thanks for hosting WBW, Stewart!
    Have a Great Week!!
    Peace :)

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  18. We saw puffins at the zoo this summer. So not the same! Great shots, Stewart.

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  19. Winged footballs--I could totally envision that! They are a most-interesting-looking bird, no doubt what one is seeing when it comes to identifying. Glad to hear the numbers were up, and had to chuckle at your blogger migration quip. Thanks for sharing this great meme.

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  20. Oh, my...this is one of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen. Thanks so much.
    Your photos are magnificent...
    This is my first time here, I think, and my little birds aren't nearly as majestic as your beautiful puffins and my photos don't even come close...

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  21. Yes, this is a people pleaser bird. Gorgeous images. 1, 2, 3 jump! Thanks for hosting.

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  22. Wow, this is the most beautiful bird ever! I love Margaret's header with a close up of the puffin. I'd give my eye teeth to have one of these in my lens. Thanks for hosting. Jo

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  23. Absolutely wonderful shots of the puffins! They are such adorable birds and I too really like that first shot, but they are all so great!

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  24. Absolutely wonderful shots of the puffins! They are such adorable birds and I too really like that first shot, but they are all so great!

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  25. I have to say that Puffins are among my favorite birds...Wonderful shots, Stewart

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  26. Puffins are amazing. Thanks for sharing.

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  27. I too love the first image. It is a special one :)

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  28. Puffins have that special clownish face that makes them so adorable to me, I like all the poses and expressions, it must be so special to be there seeing them in the wild.

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  29. You just have to smile when you see these guys! Such good pictures ! And yes, it is almost impossible not to anthropomorphize !

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  30. My heart has a soft spot for these guys, such expressive faces, thanks for sharing & hosting! Phyllis

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  31. I f I should ever be so blessed to see a real life Puffin out in the wilds, I would be thrilled, for they are on my rather short list that has been long standing. These are delightful and you are so right about that first take~

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  32. totally adorable!

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  33. How fantastic to be able to see puffins. Your photos are a delight to see. Thanks Stewart!

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  34. I've never seen a puffin in real life but they look just as comical and like they have as much personality as illustrations of them do.

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  35. They are so beautiful (footballs or not)

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  36. You are so fortunate to get close to these birds! Beauties indeed! Plus I like the pelagics that take us to their habitat here in the US. Pretty amazing birds.

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  37. I just love Puffins, and you've taken such beautiful photos of them! :)

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  38. Love the first shot too. They are so colourful and cute.

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  39. I've only seen them once, off the California coast so I loved seeing them here. You made me think about how they are related to other web-footed birds. I'll have to look that up.

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