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Expedition 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Puffin in United Kingdom

The clown of the cliffs — a comical seabird with a painted bill that carries fish like a stacked deck of cards.

Puffin

The species

The Atlantic puffin is one of Britain's most beloved seabirds: small, upright, and unmistakable with its black-and-white plumage, orange feet, and triangular bill striped in red, yellow, and blue. Puffins nest in burrows dug into grassy cliff tops, returning each spring to the same colony.

Habitat in United Kingdom

Steep sea cliffs and grassy offshore islands in Scotland, Wales, and eastern England hold puffin colonies. They spend winter far out at sea and return to land only to breed, favouring islands free from ground predators.

Where to spot one

  • Richmond Park

    London

    Ancient parkland where red deer graze at dawn, mallards paddle the ponds, and foxes slip through bracken at the woodland edge.

  • The New Forest

    Hampshire

    Open heath and oak woodland where foxes, deer, ponies, and woodland birds share a landscape that feels surprisingly wild for southern England.

  • Hyde Park & Regent's Park

    London

    Urban park lakes for mallards, tree lines full of sparrows, and pigeons along the Serpentine — starter discoveries in the heart of the city.

  • Cotswolds Farmland

    Gloucestershire & Oxfordshire

    Hedgerows, pasture, and village edges — classic fox country where russet coats show clearly against green fields at last light.

Conservation status

VU — Vulnerable

Atlantic puffins are Vulnerable, with breeding failures linked to warming seas and sand eel shortages. UK colonies at Skomer, Farne Islands, and the Scottish islands remain important strongholds.

Keep exploring

Keep exploring

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Log the Puffin in United Kingdom

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