Bird of the Month - Atlantic Puffin

Bird of the Month - Atlantic Puffin

Jon Hawkins - Surrey Hills Photography

We bring to you Bird of the Month from MWT Ornithological Warden Aron Sapsford, with illustrations by the very talented Laura Pirateque!

The enigmatic Puffin, also known as “Sea Parrots” or "Clowns of the Sea" are unfortunately less familiar as a species occurring in the Isle of Man than we would like. At the turn of the 20th century the species was still very common on the Calf, with “the tideways of the Sound dotted with their swarming multitudes”. As a burrow nesting seabird, the success of the Puffin is likely to have followed a similar fate to that of the Manx Shearwater, who’s vast colonies were wiped out by the Brown Rat and breeding was last confirmed on the Calf in 1997. That is until 2021, when following a MWT-led project to attract Puffins back to the Calf, at least two birds were seen coming ashore, with one bird seen carrying nesting materials towards a potential breeding site. Let’s hope that 2022 will build on this success!