This is part 2 of Amazing Birds of the Arctic.

There are many birds in the arctic that are either interesting, good-looking, or both. But there is no bird that garners the fascination and love of the Atlantic Puffin. One of the primary reasons for our recent trip to Iceland was to see and photograph the puffin.

On our first day in Iceland, which was also the second to last day of our cruise, we stopped at Heimaey Island, a small island just south of mainland Iceland. This small island is known for its puffin colony. We had been here before with very little luck photographing puffins. Hopefully, this time would be different.  But, alas, it wasn’t as it rained, often pouring, most of the day. Well, you only live once, so Kathryn and I along with our photographer friend John set out to find some puffins. We heard they were at the top of a nearby mountain (hill). We decided to scale the mountain with its dense grass and craggy outcroppings. This must go in the category of not the smartest thing we have ever done. Barely hanging onto the side of the mountain, rain pouring down in sheets, we found a spot from which to photograph these birds.  The puffins were not close, basically small dots in the image.

We really were in a good spot, just not close enough. The background is green from the distant hillside. Overall, not bad, just cropped in a lot.

During our previous visit to Iceland, we heard of a puffin colony on the northeast portion of Iceland, right on the coast. The closest town was an hour away, which required us passing over a mountain ridge to get there. All the while driving there we mused, would there be any puffins left? Had they all left for sea? We arrived in the morning, parking our car, and walking the quarter mile to the colony. As we approached, we noticed a few puffins on the side of a hill. With a long lens, I’ll get a few good shots. There was a wooden stairway to the top of the hill which we started to climb. About a third of the way up we knew we hit paydirt. Puffins are all over the place, some close enough to pet (I didn’t). For the next three hours I took over 3,000 images of puffins, some in flight, some standing around, some sparring, some showing affection.

Kamikaze! They are beautiful but not too graceful with their landings. They approach the ground looking like this. Then, splat, they are on the ground.

How Did I Get Into this Monet?

With sandeels in its mouth, this puffin is bringing takeout back to the nest.

Plenty of antics while on the ground. We sat in a blind watching and photographing them.

A little affection, just a quick kiss hello.

Now, a bit more than a kiss.

One of my favorite photos from our entire 6 week trip.

Overall, it was an extraordinary experience, hobnobbing with somewhere near 10,000 puffins. We have already booked a trip back for next summer. Love these birds!