Puffin Arrival Day

Today is Puffin Arrival Day!

The puffin is a species of seabird that resides in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Puffins are known for their stocky builds, black and white plumage, and their colorful beaks. They also are surprisingly smart birds, using sticks to scratch themselves. Pretty clever little critters.

This day was started in Iceland, where puffins are celebrated, as colonies of Atlantic puffins (most of them consider this country their home, mainly the Westmann Isles) come to the area around this time every year to nest and breed. Puffins like to establish these colonies on coastlines and islands. They can also use rabbit burrows to breed. I can imagine that annoys the rabbits.

Puffin Day is a day not just to celebrate the puffin but is also a day to raise awareness of them. Like many animals, puffins face problems of food supply shortages and habitat loss. For a time in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Atlantic puffins were nearly wiped out as they were hunted for their meat and eggs. They still are hunted as puffin meat is considered part of Icelandic cuisine. Thing is, puffins help control fish populations. Their nesting also helps keep soil fertile in their colonies. 

Yeah, puffins are wondrous creatures, and they should be celebrated. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!