Photos

I've taken this shot during my short, two-day stay on Mykines Island

Some info on Atlantic Puffins and Mykines Island from Wikipedia articles (link link):


Mykines is the western-most of the main 18 islands in the Faroe Islands. There is one settlement on the island: Mykines.

There are two mountains on the island: Knúkur (560 m) and Árnafjall (350 m). There are large numbers of puffin and gannet on the island. There are also many birds located on Mykineshólmur, a small islet to the immediate west of Mykines. There is a footbridge over the 35 m gorge Hólmgjógv linking the two islands.

It has been suggested that the name is actually pre-Norse in origin, coming from muc-innis, a Celtic term for pig island. This maybe a reference to whales who are known as muc-mhara (Sea sows) in Gaelic.



The Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is an auk with a brightly colored beak. It is a pelagic seabird that feeds primarily by diving for fish. Atlantic Puffins breed in large colonies, nesting in crevices or burrows. Also known as the Common Puffin, it is the only puffin species which is found in the Atlantic Ocean.

This puffin is 28-34 cm in length, with a 50-60 cm wingspan. it is mainly black above and white below, with a pale grey face and orange legs. The bright orange bill plates grow before the breeding season and are shed later. The bills are used in courtship rituals, such as the pair tapping bills together.

This species breeds on the coasts of northern Europe, Iceland and eastern North America, in burrows on grassy cliffs but also amongst rocks and scree, and winters far out to sea. It makes a noisy grunt at the breeding burrows. Feeding areas are usually located fairly far offshore from the nest. There is usually one chick and both parents feed the young.

Puffins will collect several small fish when hunting, and line them up in their bills facing alternately to each side. They use their tongues to hold the fish against spines in their palate, leaving their beaks free to open and catch more fish. They also eat crustaceans and mollusks.

The population of these birds were greatly reduced in the 1800s when they were hunted for meat and eggs. More recently, populations have declined due to predation by large gulls and the inadvertent introduction of rats onto some islands used for nesting. An Atlantic Puffin may live for around 25 years.