Puffins are distinctive seabirds known for their brightly colored beaks and upright posture. They spend most of their lives at sea, coming ashore to breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs and islands. Like all species, puffins face natural threats from various predators throughout their life cycle.
Predators of Puffins
Puffins encounter different predators depending on their environment and life stage, with threats from both air and land. Avian predators pose a risk, particularly to eggs and young chicks within breeding colonies. Large gulls, such as the Great Black-backed Gull, prey on puffin eggs and chicks, often snatching them from burrows or during transport. Gulls can also catch adult puffins in flight or attack them on the ground. Skuas, including Arctic and Great Skuas, frequently target puffins, pursuing them to force them to drop their catch or directly attacking young and sometimes adult birds.
Terrestrial predators primarily impact puffins on land, especially within their breeding burrows. Arctic and Red Foxes are opportunistic hunters that decimate puffin colonies by digging into burrows to access eggs and chicks. These foxes are problematic in areas with easy access to nesting sites, leading to losses. Introduced mammalian predators, such as Norway and Black Rats, also pose a threat on islands where they have been introduced. Rats raid burrows, consuming eggs and small chicks, which can devastate isolated puffin populations.
While less common for adults, marine predators occasionally target younger or vulnerable individuals. Larger fish, such as cod and pollock, prey on puffin chicks or smaller adults foraging underwater. Although seals, like the Grey Seal, are not primary predators of healthy adult puffins, they may opportunistically target weak or injured birds in the water. Overall, the most consistent predation pressure on puffins comes from avian and terrestrial sources during their breeding season.
Puffin Survival Strategies
Puffins employ behaviors and adaptations to reduce their vulnerability to predators during the breeding period. Their choice of nesting sites is a primary defense. Puffins typically nest in burrows dug into soft earth or rock crevices. This underground dwelling protects eggs and chicks from aerial predators like gulls and skuas, and from terrestrial threats that cannot easily access deep burrows.
Nesting in large, dense colonies offers a collective defense. Communal vigilance allows for early warning of approaching threats. When one puffin senses danger, its alarm calls alert the entire colony, giving other birds time to take cover or prepare for defense. This social structure enhances their chances of survival against predators.
Puffins often breed on remote islands or inaccessible cliff faces, which limits access for many terrestrial predators. These isolated locations reduce encounters with foxes, rats, or other land-based threats. Their aquatic and aerial capabilities further aid survival. Puffins are exceptional divers, using their wings to “fly” underwater to escape marine threats. Their fast, direct flight allows them to quickly evade aerial predators when moving between foraging grounds and nesting sites.