![]() ![]() Puffins usually reach breeding age at 5-6 years old, and often live for 20 years. In some colonies, for instance in Iceland, nearby bright lights confuse the young birds, which then fly into the light and end up on city streets. in a group of wild-caught horned puffin chicks (Fratercula corniculata) with a 37.5 (6/16) mor tality rate and lesions suggestive of vitamin E de ficiency. Initially weighing about 42 g (1+12 oz), it grows at. Puffins raise their chicks known as pufflings in burrows below ground or between rocks on steep cliffs. The young birds leave their nest burrow and make their way to the sea, normally under cover of darkness to avoid predators. The chick is covered in fluffy black down, its eyes are open, and it can stand as soon as it is hatched. The timing of the breeding in puffin colonies is highly synchronised, and so the departure of all adults takes place within a few days. The fledging period is very variable, ranging from 34 to 60 days, depending on the area and year.Īdult birds desert their young shortly before they are ready to leave the nest. Both parents incubate it for 36-45 days, and they share the feeding duties until the chick is ready to fledge. New research from the University of Oxfords Department of Zoology has used innovative technology to study causes of declines in puffin populations in the northeast Atlantic, and found that a. Puffins lay only a single egg, in late April or early May. The first puffin count of the year on Skomer Island clocked more than 42,000 birds. The birds defend the nesting site and its immediate surround, and use it in subsequent years. Where burrowing is not possible, the birds nest under boulders or in cracks and cavities in cliffs. Sometimes they will make use of Manx shearwater or rabbit burrows. Where possible, the birds excavate a nesting burrow into the soil. ![]()
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