The Puffin Hyperbook
With its brightly striped bill and pristine black and white plumage the Common or Atlantic Puffin is one of the most popular and easily identified seabirds of the northern hemisphere. It is found in colonies on the rocky sea cliffs and offshore islands of the northern USA, Canada. Greenland. Iceland, the USSR, Norway, Northern Europe and the UK. This book provides a detailed study of the natural history of the puffin and gives a valuable insight into its feeding, travelling habits, and social behavioural repertoire.
With its brightly striped bill and pristine black and white plumage the Common or Atlantic Puffin is one of the most popular and easily identified seabirds of the northern hemisphere. It is found in colonies on the rocky sea cliffs and offshore islands of the northern USA, Canada. Greenland. Iceland, the USSR, Norway, Northern Europe and the UK. This book provides a detailed study of the natural history of the puffin and gives a valuable insight into its feeding, travelling habits, and social behavioural repertoire.
The core of the Puffin Hyperbook is the publication 'The Atlantic Puffin'. There is information on breeding colonies in the 1980s and the dangers they face human activities, particularly oil pollution. In this connection the book is a natural history classic because it presents over 70 photographs specially taken on Skomer Island by the authors, which show hitherto unseen and fascinating shots both underwater and underground. It is an essential book to prepare the reader to get the most of a day trip to the island during the breeding season.
The core of the Puffin Hyperbook is the publication 'The Atlantic Puffin'. There is information on breeding colonies in the 1980s and the dangers they face human activities, particularly oil pollution. In this connection the book is a natural history classic because it presents over 70 photographs specially taken on Skomer Island by the authors, which show hitherto unseen and fascinating shots both underwater and underground. It is an essential book to prepare the reader to get the most of a day trip to the island during the breeding season.
Like our response to penguins, the puffin's upright stance and apparent lack of fear in the close proximity to humans make it very difficult not to anthropomorphise puffins. This response is evident in the writing of Adam Nicholson quoted in SÉAMUS SWEENEY’s blog.
Like our response to penguins, the puffin's upright stance and apparent lack of fear in the close proximity to humans make it very difficult not to anthropomorphise puffins. This response is evident in the writing of Adam Nicholson quoted in SÉAMUS SWEENEY’s blog.
“They do remind one of neatly turned out, rather insecure, self-important people. As I took Coral slowly across the pool towards the anchorage, steering through the floating flocks, the pufflets swam energetically ahead, looking anxiously from side to side as if to say. “I am not really bothered by this great white creature.” But when Coral drew too close for comfort, their heads bobbed this way then that even more urgently, while they made up their minds whether to dive or take off. Diving is the more elegant choice: a neat flip takes them the beneath the surface, leaving concentric rings of ripples. In contrast, taking off is usually a bit of a mess: their wings don’t seem to get much initial lift, so they splash frantically along the surface, wings and feet flapping away, often to crash inelegantly back into the water.”
“They do remind one of neatly turned out, rather insecure, self-important people. As I took Coral slowly across the pool towards the anchorage, steering through the floating flocks, the pufflets swam energetically ahead, looking anxiously from side to side as if to say. “I am not really bothered by this great white creature.” But when Coral drew too close for comfort, their heads bobbed this way then that even more urgently, while they made up their minds whether to dive or take off. Diving is the more elegant choice: a neat flip takes them the beneath the surface, leaving concentric rings of ripples. In contrast, taking off is usually a bit of a mess: their wings don’t seem to get much initial lift, so they splash frantically along the surface, wings and feet flapping away, often to crash inelegantly back into the water.”