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.
