I have always understood that after the breeding season Puffins go 'out to sea' but that is a rather vague term and there is a great deal of sea out there. So does anyone know if they are just off our coast lines or mid Atlantic or do they go further afield? The reason behind the question is that a very tired,cross and hungry storm swept puffin was found on a local beach yesterday. It is now receiving plenty of TLC at a vet hospital and sand eels are being purchased.
Caroline in Jersey
Poor Puffin, hope it recovers. They can go a long way in winter - there have been recoveries of ringed British breeding birds from Iceland, Norway, Newfoundland, Spain, north Africa... And satellite tracking shows that birds from the same colony can become very widely dispersed in early winter. Some Puffins tagged on the Isle of May wintered in the North Sea but others went round to the Atlantic, well west of the Western Isles. Most moved back closer to home through Jan and Feb.
Thank you aiki, fascinating - he is not ringed yet (no doubt will be before release) - it really is amazing how far these little guys get. From what I understand there is no physical damage but hungry and tired. I can't imagine life has been very easy on the huge seas we have been getting and I doubt it was possible to get air borne in the worst of it
Hopefully this link will work to a photo of him at the vets
www.facebook.com/photo.php