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 ocean, where they will spend most of their lives. They leave in the dark of night to hide from predators, guided by the moon.
But sometimes fledglings lose their way. Heimaey’s only town got electricity about a century ago. Ever since, dazzled by night lights or swept along in stiff sea breezes, some young puffins have taken a wrong turn — toward town.
Light pollution affects wildlife in perilous ways, disrupting crucial activities from pollination to mating. Some creatures, like these Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica), lose their orientation and can’t find their way to the ocean. Some could be attacked by predators; others might starve. Fortunately for these pufflings, the residents of Heimaey have taken a hands-on approach to addressing the problem.
The community-based Puffling Patrol searches for and rescues birds that have gone astray. These chicks — and colony adults — are helping scientists study puffins’ largely mysterious lives at sea.
The Puffling Patrol rescues lost birds
Equipped with flashlights, cardboard boxes and gloves, folks head out after dark searching for lost chicks. They scour backyards, parking lots and rooftops — wherever the bright glow of town competes with moonlight.
On any given night during puffling season, a dozen or more small groups and individuals may be patrolling the town. Rescuing stranded birds is a long-standing tradition on the island, though the catchy Puffling Patrol name has been around for only a decade or so. Typically teens or younger kids scour the night alongside parents or grandparents who pass down the tradition. (For the little ones, it’s a great excuse to stay up late.)
Puffins dive from the sea surface to nab food. They zip through the water as if they’re flying. But adaptations that enhance swimming, such as a stubby wingspan, come at the expense of take-off ability, which leaves them vulnerable to cats and other predators on land.
On the upside: The birds are easy to catch. Usually it takes just a short chase to grab one. The bird is put in a cardboard box and taken home. People are asked to weigh their rescued pufflings and log them on the Puffling Patrol website. (The only thing to watch out for are the pufflings’ tiny, kitten-like claws.)
The patrol often takes healthy rescues — those large enough to live at sea — to the cliffs. From this height, the birds can catch some air. They’ll fly as far as they’re able before landing in the water, perhaps 50 meters or more, the farther the better. Some pufflings need a helpful boost — a push — off the clifftop, while others take the initiative on their own.
Some rescues, however, need extra care. While wandering around town, pufflings sometimes fall into the harbor and end up slick with oil from the local passenger ferry, cargo ships and fishing boats. Dirtied feathers must be cleaned to become waterproof again. Otherwise, the birds would not survive in the frigid North Atlantic. Other pufflings may be injured or underfed. And some may have left home too early, before growing their adult plumage.
These birds are taken to the Puffin Rescue Centre in Heimaey, run by the global nonprofit Sea Life Trust. There’s even a drop box for after-hours arrivals, where pufflings will remain safe through the night.
During the 2024 season, the Puffling Patrol rescued more than 4,200 pufflings — that’s approximately one bird for every human on Heimaey.
Studying puffins at sea is tricky
For about 420 of the rescued birds, scientists put a ring on the puffins’ legs. It’s an ID band, allowing researchers to document a bird’s location each time it’s sighted and to monitor their population.
Adult puffins develop a brightly colored striped beak and orange feet. This adult appearance does not change much, aside from the beak color getting brighter during breeding season. So the only way to know a puffin’s exact age by sight is if it’s been tagged. With the rings, scientists have learned puffins can live at least 40 years.
The birds spend most of their lives in the open ocean. Observing birds at sea is nearly impossible, so much about puffins remains a mystery. Ecologists like Erpur Snær Hansen, who leads a team at the South Iceland Nature Research Centre, are curious to know how far puffins roam and where they go.
Each June, Hansen and colleagues briefly capture adults at their burrows — while also checking on eggs — and fit them with battery-operated global location sensors. These geolocators detect changes in daylight, which can be analyzed to pinpoint a bird’s location within about 180 kilometers.
On Heimaey, only adult birds are currently tagged with these GLS devices, but other researchers in Scandinavia have begun tracking juveniles as well to learn about their movements after fledging.
For about a decade, Hansen and other researchers have contributed GLS data to SEATRACK, a project that tracks seabirds. The data are revealing what seabirds do offshore, why there are fewer and fewer of them and what humans can do to help them survive.
In Europe, where more than 90 percent of Atlantic puffins reside, the species is listed as endangered. The European population of about 7.8 million birds is projected to decrease by 50 to 79 percent between 2000 and 2065, within three puffin generations.
Puffins face a variety of threats. One of their main food sources is sand eels, a group of slender fish with an eel-like appearance. Sand eel populations are shrinking due to climate change and industrial-scale overfishing. Puffins must compete with other sea life and trawlers for dwindling numbers of these and other forage fish. When sand eels become scarce, puffins must work harder to find them. Puffins stressed this way often produce fewer chicks. Another threat is pollution, including mercury, plastics and contaminants from shipping.
Bird migration studies using SEATRACK data have identified sites in the North Atlantic where restricting human activity and prioritizing pollution cleanup efforts could have a big impact.
For instance, there’s a vital feeding ground for about 5 million seabirds, including puffins and 20 other species, in the middle of the Atlantic. Species from at least 56 colonies spanning 16 countries and regions come to this area during the vulnerable molting period, when birds shed worn-out feathers. In 2021, a European consortium called the OSPAR Convention declared this spot a marine protected area: the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Seamount. It’s the first such area identified by tracking data.
Waiting for a homecoming
Once puffling season ends and burrows empty out, Heimaey’s seaside cliffs go quiet. Members of the Puffling Patrol catch up on lost sleep and share their favorite pics.
At the end of the 2024 puffling season, three rescues couldn’t be released and now live in an enclosure at the Puffin Rescue Centre, where visitors can watch their antics.
Meanwhile, Iceland’s puffin researchers wait patiently for the birds’ summer return. Adult puffins return to the same colony — even the same burrow — year after year. With the data collected from these birds, Hansen and other scientists will weave together the story of each wanderer’s ocean journey.