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Do You Know About Puffling Season?
This story about baby puffins in Iceland is what your week needs.
Imagine my shock (as a lover of birds, especially adorable ones like puffins) when I read the headline on this NPR article, “Why it’s perfectly normal to see baby puffins thrown off cliffs in Iceland each year.”
As it turns out, throwing baby puffins off cliffs is part of a life-saving, ecological effort by the people living in Iceland’s Westman Islands.
What is Puffling Season?
“Puffling season,” as it’s called, is the yearly practice of helping the chicks of Atlantic puffins find their way when it’s time for them to fledge. Typically it occurs in August and September.
The baby puffins are supposed to follow the light of the moon as they embark on several years at sea. They won’t return to land until it’s time to breed.
But everything hasn’t been going along with Mother Nature’s plan.
Why?
The city lights have caused our dear, sweet pufflings to become confused. Rather than following the moonlight, they head into town.
What happens to the misguided pufflings?
Since this party of pufflings didn’t make dinner reservations and never planned to pay their bar tab, the townspeople have rallied to help a puffling out.
NPR spoke on a video call to digital creator Kyana Sue Powers who was on a trip to Vestmannaeyjar, islands off the south coast of Iceland. She described adults and children on puffling patrol.
Throughout the evening, Powers watched people sweep flashlights into dark corners in search of the wayward baby seabirds.
After they’re gently captured, a cardboard box lined with grass makes a safe resting place for the pufflings.
Do they really toss the pufflings off a cliff?
The short answer is yes.
Before evening the next day, the patrollers bring their pufflings for release (aka — tossing). It’s done before sunset to avoid repeating the same issue of light pollution from town.
