Puffins are charismatic seabirds often called the “clowns of the sea” due to their brightly colored bills and waddling gait. They spend most of their lives in the open ocean, using their specialized wings to “fly” underwater in pursuit of fish. Finding these distinctive birds requires strategic planning, as they only come ashore briefly each year to nest and raise their young. Locating puffins begins with understanding the three distinct species and their specific geographic territories.
Identifying the Three Puffin Species
The world is home to three puffin species, and identifying them is the first step in locating them, as their habitats are separated by vast oceans. The Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is the only species found in the North Atlantic. It is recognizable by its large, triangular bill featuring a bright orange-red tip and a steel-gray base, and it has a prominent white cheek patch.
The remaining two species inhabit the North Pacific Ocean, primarily around the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands. The Horned Puffin (Fratercula corniculata) is named for the small, fleshy black spike that extends above its eye during the breeding season. This Pacific species has a mostly white face and a yellow bill that ends in an orange tip.
The largest species is the Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata), easily identified by the long, creamy-yellow plumes that stream back from its eyes. Unlike its cousins, the Tufted Puffin has an almost entirely black body and a striking white face.
The Global Breeding Grounds
The location of a puffin colony depends entirely on the species, as the birds remain loyal to their respective ocean basins. The vast majority of the global Atlantic Puffin population congregates in the North Atlantic. Iceland is the hub, hosting an estimated sixty percent of the world’s Atlantic Puffins, with enormous colonies found on the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar).
Other significant Atlantic colonies are located along the coasts of Norway, the British Isles (Scotland and Wales), and Greenland. In North America, major nesting sites exist in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and islands off the coast of Maine. At these sites, the birds come ashore to lay a single egg in a burrow dug into grassy cliff slopes.
In the North Pacific, the Horned and Tufted Puffins share breeding territories spanning the northern rim of the ocean. Tufted Puffins have the wider range, nesting from the Russian Far East and the Aleutian Islands down to central California. Horned Puffins are concentrated primarily in Alaska and Siberia, often nesting in rock crevices on steep cliff faces rather than digging burrows into softer soil.
Timing Your Puffin Search
Observing puffins on land is only possible during their annual breeding season, as they spend the remainder of the year dispersed across the open sea (pelagic existence). Puffins typically return to their natal colonies in late spring, with nesting beginning around late April or early May in the Northern Hemisphere.
The optimal window for viewing activity is generally from June through July, the height of the breeding and chick-rearing season. During this time, adult birds constantly fly between the ocean and their burrows, their colorful bills stuffed with small fish for their young, known as pufflings. By the end of August, the young have fledged and the adults have departed the cliffs, making sightings rare until the following spring.
Practical Viewing Tips
Successful puffin viewing requires patience, the correct equipment, and a commitment to wildlife ethics. Since puffins are out fishing during the middle of the day, the best time to see them actively flying and interacting near their burrows is early morning or late afternoon. Boat tours offer excellent views of birds on the water and flying near remote sea stacks.
Land-based viewing from protected reserves provides opportunities to observe them walking and nesting on the cliffs. Essential equipment includes a good pair of binoculars or a camera with a zoom lens, as maintaining a respectful distance is mandatory for the birds’ safety.
Visitors must stay strictly on marked paths and viewing platforms, especially on grassy slopes, since walking off-trail can inadvertently collapse fragile nesting burrows. To avoid stressing the colony, movement should be slow, and noises kept to a minimum, ensuring the birds remain undisturbed.