A small, rocky island off Iceland is home to the world’s largest breeding colony of Atlantic puffins.
When breeding season is in full swing, around 1.5 million adults pair up and nestle into burrows on the grassy seaside slopes above Heimaey island’s rocky cliffs.
Once chicks hatch, puffin moms and dads devote about six weeks to caring for their babies, bringing meals of small fish and fending off predators such as seagulls. By late August or early September, the pufflings are mature enough to live on their own. Over four to five weeks, throngs of young birds head off to sea. Their instinct is to head for the open