In an attempt to get back into the rhythm of blogging regularly, I have decided to write some simple blog posts that make me happy. Soooo today’s blog post is about puffins! Although I am admittedly not a huge animal lover or bird watcher, I have a soft spot for the adorable arctic puffin. I first fell in love with the puffin when I spotted them from a boat on my way to Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland when I was in college (speaking of Skellig Michael, um, STAR WARS!!) and have loved their weird faces ever since.
I had high hopes of seeing these elusive little birds on our trip to Iceland over the summer, but had been told not to count on it. One day when we were driving up the coast we stopped at an epic lighthouse (more on that later) during a rail and hail storm. When we were getting back into our car we saw a crowd of people by a nearby cliff. We reluctantly went over to see what all the fuss was about and, to my delight, there were a few hundred puffins!!
I later learned that days with bad weather are some of the best days to see puffins because they seek shelter on land. When we were driving back to Reykjavik the next day we stopped to see the puffins again (because, why not?) and many of them were still there hanging in the sunshine. These puffin photos were taken on both days so don’t be confused by the different weather conditions. Without further ado, the puffins:
I should have taken a wide shot so you could see just how many puffins there were, but I didn’t think of it while I was there. (too much puffin love to think about blogging) However, here is a shot of some of them in the water and there were a ton more on the cliffs and in the air.
Aren’t the so weirdly adorable? I am a little embarrassed of how many puffin photos I have on my hard drive, but then again, I am not.
Have you ever had a puffin sighting??
PS: Like this post? Check out Driving the Snæfellsnes Peninsula or Lake Naivasha Water Safari
They are so darlingly cute. If I was there, I’d probably take a ton of photos, too. They’re too amazing not to.
Right?? So worth all of the space these files are taking up on a hard drive 🙂
They’re so cute! I grew up watching puffins in Alaska, but I’ve never been super close to them like this! 🙂 Great pictures like always Erica!
Thank you so much Amanda! I had the help of zoom lens, but we were very very close!
What wonderful puffin pictures. I was amazed by the colour and the detail…but I see you are a real photographer. When I was visiting Canada’s east coast I saw lots of puffins, but didn’t get anything like your photos. What a treat to see these.
Kay
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
Well, thank you Kay! Yes, you are right I am a pro photographer as my ‘day job’ so that carries over into my tourist-y photos as well 🙂 I have never been to the Canadian coast, but my trip to Iceland really piqued my interest in more arctic travel, so I may have to check it out!
Wow! Super cute!
I know!! 🙂
These photos are beyond beautiful 🙂 Wow! They are just the cutest, aren’t they?
Thank you Marcella! I love them
So adorable! You got some beautiful pictures of the puffins! I got to hold one when I visited the Westman Islands, they are so cute.
WHAT??? That’s amazing!! I cannot wait to go back to your beautiful country 🙂
they’re so cute! #travel linkup
I would be hard pushed not to try and pop a Puffin in my purse – they are SO cute!
Bahahahaha I should have!!!
Goodness they are just adorable! Beautiful photographs 🙂
Oh wow, just. so.adorable! Spectacular shots!
Blog posts that make you happy are usually the best blog posts! And who doesn’t absolutely ADORE puffins?! I may have squeeeeeed at that flying shot 😀
On a list of the world’s most adorable creatures, puffins surely rank somewhere near the top.
I’ve only had one puffin sighting experience and it was a bit of a surprise. Several years ago we were on a whale watching boat off the coast of Vancouver Island when the captain stopped and gasped. There was a lone puffin in the water, something he’d never seen before. Apparently the area is not known for having puffins. Alas, with global climate change there have been more puffins sighted in the area in the following years.
they are really cute – I love the photos and its nice to see something so different!