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Just off the southern coast of Iceland, the Westman Islands are home to many of the country’s several million Atlantic Puffins. When puffin hatchlings, known as pufflings, get confused by the lights of the city, volunteers of all ages search for wayward pufflings on the street and bring them in for health checks. After the puffins get the green light, the volunteers release them along cliffs and beaches.
BirdNote®
Puffling Patrol
Written by Lauren Colella
This is Birdnote.
[Atlantic Puffin flock calls]
Just off the southern coast of Iceland, the Westman Islands are home to many of the country’s several million Atlantic Puffins. The only inhabited island, Heimaey, is surrounded by rich fishing grounds, attracting anglers and puffins alike. Late summer is when the puffin hatchlings, adorably known as “pufflings,” begin to fly. Unfortunately, many get confused by the lights of the city, and end up stranded in the harbor and on the streets, where they’re vulnerable to predators.
That’s when the people of Heimaey come to the rescue. Each night during puffling season, volunteer rescuers go on “puffling patrol,” carrying flashlights and cardboard boxes, ready to scoop up wayward hatchlings.
[Atlantic Puffin juvenile call]
In the morning, volunteers — including many children — take the pufflings to the Sea Life Trust, where the birds are weighed and given a health check. After the puffins get the green light, the volunteers release them along cliffs and beaches.
This tradition has been such a success that in 2021, over 7000 puffins were released back to the cliffs. However, fewer puffins nested and raised chicks in 2022 – which makes the puffling patrol more critical than ever.
[Atlantic Puffin flock calls]
For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.
Atlantic Puffin Xeno Canto 432782 and Xeno Canto 479185 recorded by Stanislas Wroza.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote December 2022
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# puffin-06-2022-12-06 puffin-06
Reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROMHC9fwntw
https://guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/birds-in-iceland
https://belugasanctuary.sealifetrust.org/en/
Lauren Colella
Writer
Ariana Remmel
NarratorSights & Sounds
