Puffins posing for the camera at Sumburgh Head, Shetland, this spring.
Atlantic puffins spend most of their lives at sea, forming colonies on the rocky cliffs here in Shetland to breed in the spring and summer. They are dubbed the “sea parrot” because of their colourful beaks but did you know their beaks fade to a dull grey during the winter when they’re out at sea?
They are so much fun to watch and photograph.
Linking up with PODcast’s Alphabet Photo Challenge. This week P is for Puffin.
A is for… Adventure
B is for… Brave
C is for… Coast
D is for… Derelict
E is for… Education
F is for… Fishing Industry
G is for… Green
H is for… Helicopter
I is for… Iron Age
J is for… Jelly Sweets
K is for… Kohlrabi
L is for… Lynn
M is for… Marmoset
N is for… Noise
O is for… Orangedale
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Lovely pics from what looks like a lovely day
absolutely beautiful, would love to see these colourful feathery beauties xxxx
I desperately want to see puffins up close. So cute!
Come visit us up here in Shetland during the summer – you’ll see plenty then! 😀
I love puffins! They sound so funny and I love that they lose their beaks in winter! Great shots!
Thanks Holly 🙂 I kind of liken their beaks to putting lipstick on to attract a mate! No need to wear it around the house when there is no one to see!
Awesome photo, I love puffins too! I can remember holidaying in Wales and you could see hundreds of them on Skomer Island. Amazing birds. Thank you so much for sharing with #alphabetphoto
My pleasure Charly, thanks for hosting such a great challenge!
I havent seen them in real life and up until now though your photos proved they are real, they still look too cute to be real! #alphabetphoto
They are adorable, aren’t they!
Oh how wonderful to get close enough to capture these even with a long lens. I love these wee birds they are such characters. I did know about the beaks, perhaps they are colourful to help them find their mate.
A long lens isn’t required, you can get within a few feet of them sometimes – I really think they like the attention! 😀
Utterly envious. My favourite bird. Your photos are beautiful and I can imagine they are fun to photograph. #AlphabetPhoto
Awww 🙂 Thanks Cheryl, you should come up and take some photos of them yourself some time!
They’re gorgeous. I’ve only seen at a great distance from a ferry round the Farne Islands
They’re lovely, aren’t they, and it’s fab to be able to get so close up to them.
Gorgeous photos, one of my biggest regrets is not visiting the shetlands before we emigrated, i would love to see these in the flesh.
You never know, you might end up here one day! 🙂
Fabulous shots – how wonderful capturing them in the wild in the Shetlands! #alphabetphoto
Thanks Kriss – yes we are very lucky they come and stay here for the summer. Such photogenic creatures!
What lovely birds! Puffin always reminds me of the publisher, though 🙂
Oh yes, I’d forgotten that there was a book publisher by that name!
What gorgeous birds. I wished I lived close enough to go and visit.
They really are beautiful, unusual little creatures.
Wow, amazing photos. I’ve never seen Puffins up close. #alphabetphoto xx
Thanks 🙂 You can get really close to the puffins at this location. There’s a fab web cam too, if you wanted to watch them inside their nests!
Gorgeous photos, I’d love to get so close to a puffin as, oddly, they’ve featured in a couple of books I’ve read this summer and I’m intrigued by them. #alphabetphoto
You can get really close to them at Sumburgh Head in Shetland, within a few feet sometimes. I really do think they come to pose for the cameras!
Wow, what an amazing looking bird!
2nd shot looks like he is trying to talk to you 🙂
Doesn’t he, haha! Such cute little birds 🙂