Atlantic puffin with fresh Capelin in flight

Trying to get on these speed demons as they emerge from heavy fog is an exercise in frustration. They seem to come out of nowhere at 55MPH. The key is to keep trying - smile.

Atlantic puffin with fish on golden cliffs

We gathered on the beach well before the 04:40 sunrise and the air was still and the sky was clear. Will the Puffins be bringing back fish to their babies as the sun rises? Will they be flying towards us? There are so many variables which include the tide, but I knew the tide had turned and was starting to rise. Without wind, I knew there would be less activity; seabirds love to fly in high winds. We set up hopeful that the stars would align - smile.

Atlantic puffin in flight in golden light

A Puffin changes direction while on final approach in the last drops of golden light.

The pose with diagonal wings and the head position with the bill clear of the body/wings align with the golden light and catchlight in the eye to make this a keeper :)

Razorbill calling in last light

Razorbills simply fascinate me. Newfoundland hunters called Razorbills “tinkers,” the local pronunciation of “thinkers.” They were given this name because during courtship displays, males hold their bills vertically, appearing to contemplate the heavens.

Bald Eagle with fresh fish

Here is a Bald Eagle with a freshly caught fish. That stare!

Every few years a story makes the rounds about a bald eagle carrying off a dog or trying to snatch someone’s cat. Biologists who study birds of prey and folks who live around eagles have seen plenty snatching and carrying – as well as swooping and swimming – and they offered insights into what eagles really can and cannot do.

Bald eagles are strong, aggressive birds but like everything that flies they are governed by aerodynamics. The wings of an eagle need to support the eight to 12-pound bird as well as whatever the bird is carrying, and best estimates put the lifting power of an eagle at four or five pounds. But it’s not quite that simple.

Lift is dependent not only on wing size, but on airspeed. The faster a bird (or plane) is flying, the greater the lift potential. An eagle that lands on the beach to grab a fish, and then takes off again, is limited to a smaller load than an eagle that swoops down at 20 or 30 miles an hour and snatches up a fish. That momentum and speed gives the bird the ability to carry more weight.

You can read more @ The Alaska Fish & Wildlife News HERE.

Bald Eagles fighting over fish

A Bald Eagle reaching for a fish from another Bald Eagle. Fishing over and stealing fish is quite common because the Eagles are quite lazy and would rather steal fish from another Eagle or Osprey. This is from the middle of a 55 frame sequence that I kept from this chase - smile.

Atlantic puffin bringing home breakfast

Be sure to let me know when to move past the Puffin with fish pictures; I have enough new content to post a new one every day for another year (at least). We had an awesome lunch in the lighthouse and went back down to the beach as the tide turned and the Puffins started to bring back loads of fish. Everyone was full and happy - smile.

Atlantic puffin flying with Capelin

The new Sony “Fish Eye Auto-Focus” did an exceptional job during my Deluxe Puffin Workshops - LOL!

We would start each day with a 200-meter (200 yards) walk down to the beach well before sunrise and then photograph until the light shifted to the harsh side before heading back up to the lighthouse for our freshly cooked breakfast. The kitchen crew (Jeannine, Brigitte and Jean-Paul) did an exceptional job cooking our delicious meals and meeting everyone’s dietary and allergy needs. Oh, did I mention the endless supply of freshly ground and brewed coffee? Expresso, latte, cappuccino, Café au lait? Life is good with exceptional coffee :)

This image was made the moment we went back down to the beach after breakfast; I think the Puffins had the same idea and it seemed like hundreds of Puffins were returning with bills full of fish.

I never tire of Puffins - lol.

Atlantic puffin in flight

An Atlantic puffin returns to its burrow after bathing in The Gulf of the Saint Lawrence. As I tracked the Puffins flying back to the cliff face, I would stop once they entered the shade of the cliff. This is the last frame before the puffin entered the shade and I was lucky to get a near-perfect wing position and the spotlight effect - smile!

Razorbill in flight with Capelin fish

Unlike the Puffins that usually circle a few times before landing and scurrying into their burrows, the Razorbills usually just fly straight in on the first attempt. This Razorbill made a few attempts before it landed, and banked right in front of us a few times before finally landing.

Atlantic puffin flying with fish at first light

We were all down on the beach and ready before the sun rose at 04:48 and there really weren’t any birds flying around. The air was warm and still. As the intensity of the sun rose, a gentle breeze turned gusty and Puffins started to appear with bills full of fish. The first dozen flew away from us as they landed, but then the wind shifted and we had dozens of amazing opportunities as they brought home loads of fish for their babies - smile.

Atlantic Puffin with fish on green in golden light

Are you getting sick of Puffin images yet? How about Puffin with fish images? LOL.

If you really want to up your birds in flight game, try turning the camera to vertical or portrait orientation: the challenge is a tough one, but will help you learn to acquire fast moving targets more reliably - smile.

Atlantic Puffin in flight with fish (Capelin) dorsal view

Everyone who joined my five sold-out Deluxe Puffins Galore Lighthouse Island Workshop Adventures had some pretty epic opportunities with the Puffins bringing fish back to their babies. Upon reflection, there seemed to be more Puffins and more of them had fish. A sign that the colony is doing well despite many other seabird colonies being ravaged by the Avian flu.

Next year’s trips are starting to fill already, so don’t wait until it is too late to join the Puffin fun.

Bank swallow or Sand Martin banking in flight

Here is a Bank Swallow (Sand Martin) banking in flight; certainly a little more challenging than Puffins in flight. We had some great fun trying to get these Ariel acrobats in the frame during my recent Deluxe Puffins Galore workshops.

Razorbill in flight with Capelin fish

A Razorbill brings Capelin fish back to its nesting site to feed its baby. The very last frame of a sequence of 32 was captured; This one was chosen for the visible Capelin head and its position.

Atlantic puffin with bill full of fish

Here is an Atlantic puffin bringing a bill full of fish (Capelin) to its baby. The background is out of focus seaweed covered rocks. It was a dark and stormy morning and I opted to start to lower my shutter speed (to 3,200/second) once I got to ISO 12,800.

Atlantic puffin with fish silhouette

Here is a silhouette of an Atlantic puffin returning to its nest with some Capelin for dinner. I absolutely love the light shining through the translucent fish tails and the little parts of the Puffin’s primary feathers where the red shines through.

Atlantic puffin with nesting material

Atlantic Puffins dig a burrow in the soil under the grass at the top of a cliff. After cleaning out their burrows, many puffins line their nest chamber with grass, twigs, and feathers. The slightly enlarged nest chamber where the egg is laid is usually placed at the end of the burrow.

Atlantic puffin The Twist

After our fantastic crew (Janine, Brigitte and Jean-Paul) served an amazing gourmet dinner (braided salmon and cod with aux gratin potato, broccoli, tomato and pepper casserole and sautéed purple cabbage followed by the best lemon meringue pie that I have ever had), we ventured out for more Puffin Photography. The Puffins were all flying back and forth to the water for baths and a few of us got some great airborne shakes in the golden light…..the ones who were willing to skip photographing only the puffins with fish - smiles.

Learn more about the dream deluxe lighthouse island accommodation Puffins Galore Workshop CLICK HERE

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Learn more about the dream deluxe lighthouse island accommodation Puffins Galore Workshop CLICK HERE 〰️

Atlantic puffin Sunset Silhouette

Here is another silhouette of an Atlantic puffin from my recently concluded Deluxe Puffins Galore Lighthouse Adventure. Spots are filling very quickly for next year :) Learn more HERE.